Meat+Poultry - October 2019 - 78

A L T E R N AT I V E P R O T E I N S

to stock alternative protein products for the best results.
While plant-based meat alternatives traditionally have been placed
far away from the meat aisle, there's little consensus among retailers
when it comes to placement. Some stores are putting plant-based meat
in a refrigerated or frozen section with other alternative proteins, or in
a dedicated vegan and vegetarian aisle. Some merchandise plant-based
products next to dairy items, while others are trying out the packaged meat
section. But Kroger's placement conundrum hasn't stopped it from rolling
out new plant-based products.
Kroger is extending its Simple Truth brand into the meat and dairy
alternative category. The new products will include meat alternatives like
fresh burger patties, ground applications, sausages and deli slices as well
as cream cheese, French onion dip and queso. The new products were
announced this past September during the Good Food Conference taking
place in San Francisco.
Iowa-based retail grocery store Hy-Vee has added the Hormel Food
Corp. line of soy-protein based meat substitute, Happy Little Plants, to its
lineup. The new retail product brand is part of the company's plant-based
and blended protein offerings, which began in 2014 with the launch of the
Hormel Fuse burger.
Happy Little Plants will initially be sold at select Hy-Vee grocery stores
in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. Hormel
plans to add more retail locations in the near future.
"We understand consumers across a spectrum of lifestyles are adopting
more flexible attitudes and behaviors when thinking about food, especially
given the wide variety of products available in the marketplace," said Jim
Splinter, group vice president of corporate strategy at Hormel Foods. "We
intend to focus on all the ways plants can help consumers find alternatives
in their food routines."

PRODUCTION
Two of the more known producers of plant-based meat alternatives, Beyond
Meat Inc. and Impossible Foods, have gained significant partnerships in
foodservice. National restaurant chains, meal kit makers and foodservice
providers all have added their meatless offerings to menus. These
innovations have only increased following both Beyond Meat's and
Impossible Foods' reformulation of their flagship burger products.
Both companies strive to produce plant-based products that mimic
traditional animal meat as much as possible. The new iteration of Beyond
Meat's Beyond Burger plant-based patty features a vegetarian version of
marbling made from coconut oil and cocoa butter designed to melt and
tenderize like beef fat. The new recipe offers a more neutral flavor and
aroma profile, and includes a simplified ingredient list that excludes gluten,
soy and GMOs.
"The new Beyond Burger is the next step in our journey toward
building meat directly from plants that delivers a consumer experience
indistinguishable from its animal protein equivalent," said Ethan Brown,
founder and CEO of Beyond Meat.
Beyond Meat's portfolio of fresh and frozen plant-based proteins is sold
at more than 30,000 retail and foodservice outlets worldwide.
Impossible Foods also tweaked its Impossible Burger recipe to give
consumers a wheat- and gluten-free option. The Impossible Burger 2.0
uses soy protein rather than wheat protein and contains no gluten, animal
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