Founder of the Veganuary initiative Matthew Glover is launching a vegan fried chick*n company – which aims to put ‘broiler farms out of business’.
The entrepreneur has partnered with renowned chef and restaurateur Adam Lyons to create the ‘bold’ and ‘edgy’ company, VFC.
‘The best vegan fried chicken’
At his restaurant Source – Lyons served vegan meals alongside meat, fish, and vegetarian options.
“Among the vegan meals on offer was the best vegan fried chicken I had ever tasted,” said Glover.
Lyons later took part in Veganuary and then, with the idea of VFC taking shape, Glover took the chef inside a typical industrial chicken farm.
“Adam had never thought too closely about how chickens were reared before then, and that visit was a game-changer for him,” Glover said. “He went in as a fledgling vegan, and came out one hundred percent committed to getting VFC into the mainstream market.”
There is a rich seam of activism running right through VFC’s branding. The bold packaging features stylized graffiti and campaign messaging while the website hosts the men’s filmed visit to the chicken farm.
‘A businessman turned activist’
“I am a businessman turned activist,” explains Glover, “and VFC is very much a marriage of the two. There are many ways to dismantle unjust systems, and we intend VFC to be part of the movement that puts an end to factory farming for good.”
The pair has hired award-winning brand design consultancy Elmwood – the team behind Wicked Kitchen – and are ready to launch VFC ‘with fanfare’.
While they scale up, VFC will be available only online, but Glover and Lyons have appointed a sales director with the express aim of getting the products on to the high street as quickly as possible. Achieving price parity with animal-based chicken is another key priority, but they aim to eventually make it cheaper.
‘Emptying’ factory farms
“We’re not messing about,” says Lyons. “We’ve developed a fantastic product that looks, cooks, and tastes like chicken, we’ve appointed an ambitious team, and we are ready to play our part in emptying those factory farm sheds. That’s what drives us on.”
VFC will be available from VFC.co.uk, with shipping available from December 22. The products available are: Bites & Fries, with a tangy barbecue sauce (original flavor; or spicy), VFC Bites (original; or spicy), and VFC Fillets (original; or spicy.
VFC is made from wheat protein, and is soya- and nut-free. It is said to look, taste and ‘pull apart’ like chicken but is 100 percent plant-based. It is made for carnivores and suitable for vegans.
