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Category: plant based ready meals

  • Jam ‘n’ Vegan Secures Veg Capital Backing For Chef-Made Ready Meals With A Cultural Twist

    4 Mins Read

    Vegan investor Veg Capital, led by Veganuary and VFC co-founder Matthew Glover, has announced it has led a £200,000 seed round for U.K.-based Jam ‘n’ Vegan, which produces family favourite ready meals infused with world flavours. In addition, Veg Capital will take up the position of a board seat to help grow the startup and bring it to larger audiences. To date, marketing has been limited, with word of mouth acting as the primary channel for founder Kyle Parchment.

    All of Jam ‘n’ Vegan meals are fully plant-based and inspired by Parchment’s travels. The capital infusion will allow for new hires to grow the core team, with a marketing manager being the first priority. 

    Building up a vegan brand

    Jam ‘n’ Vegan is currently run as a direct-to-customer meal delivery service. The brand offers a subscription that discounts bulk and regular orders. An initial focus, particularly for the new marketing manager, will be to move into retail and food service channels, to widen the prospective audience.

    “Kyle has managed to capture a mood with his range; it is a true celebration of our world of wonderful and diverse cultures. And just as importantly, he is a master of flavour, working his magic to create dishes that are both unique and delicious,” Matthew Glover, Veg Capital’s managing director, said in a statement. “At Veg Capital we have all been inspired by how Kyle has overcome the odds to build his company from his mum’s kitchen to where it is now. We have big visions for the future of Jam ‘n’ Vegan and are thrilled to be joining this journey”.

    The Jam ‘n’ Vegan range includes rice and peas with jackfruit mutton, plant-based butter chicken, jollof rice and mac and cheese with a jerk crumb. 

    “I may not have been dealt the best cards in life, but I was brought up to have the deepest respect for culture, and I want to honour this with my food, and prove that with passion, dedication, and determination, the sky is the limit,” Parchment said in a statement. “I’m so excited to welcome Veg Capital into the Jam Fam and am bursting with ideas to celebrate all the beautiful differences in the world through taste, sound, and vision”.

    Veg Capital’s interest in ready meals

    In March this year, Veg Capital invested in another vegan ready meal outfit, Shicken. Glover’s team also led the funding round, this time after making an initial investment in 2021. The Indian ready meal startup secured £2 million in the second round, to scale production and begin investigating global expansion opportunities. Initial growth plans include U.K.-wide distribution through the Costco network before U.S. partnerships are sought.

    Vegan ready meals as a burgeoning sector

    The global ready meals market is expected to top out at $0.51 trillion this year with a predicted CAGR of 6.2 percent. As a specific niche, vegan ready meals are increasingly being heralded as a healthy option and one that is going to trend. As workers begin to return to their offices and life gets busier again, the lure of convenience food is easy to understand. Because of this, a number of brands, including Veg Capital’s investments, are looking to offer people a better option than the traditional frozen meat-based dishes they previously bought.

    Last year, London’s Planty completed a £770k raise for its direct-to-customer plant-based meal service. Having made a dent in the U.K. market the startup sought funding to support a European launch cycle, starting with Scandinavia. New product development was cited as a priority, with the company hoping to look at breakfast options, snacks and more deserts. 

    Most recently, Australian plant-based meat leader v2food has announced it is launching four ready meals into Woolworths. The development comes after the company identified an increase in consumer interest in ready meals, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

    All photos by Jam ‘n’ Vegan.

    The post Jam ‘n’ Vegan Secures Veg Capital Backing For Chef-Made Ready Meals With A Cultural Twist appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • V2food Enters The Ready Meal Category With Four Plant-Based Classics

    4 Mins Read

    Australian plant-based meat leader v2food is diversifying its range with ready meals to offer consumers fast and convenient access to prepared vegan dishes. The company is debuting four options including spaghetti bolognese, lasagne, penne bake and chilli con carne. The move marks v2food’s fourth round of innovation, following on from its beef mince and burgers, sausages, pork mince and chicken line.

    The company cites a rise in appetites for convenience foods as a motivating factor in developing the ready meals. The trend has been confirmed by an increase in meal kit orders, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Recipes were chosen according to classic appeal and given an animal-free twist with v2food’s plant-based meat.

    Making a sustainable switch

    V2food claims that if an Australian family of four switched from one beef-based meal to its bolognese once a week, the annual greenhouse gas emissions savings would be significant. A comparable example of driving a car 15,000km is given to amplify the point. Key to families taking up the challenge of eating plant-based is making the switch as simple as possible.

    “v2food is committed to making it easier for everyone to eat sustainably more often, Nick Hazell, CEO and founder of v2food said in a statement. “We are not asking every Aussie to become vegan, instead, we’re encouraging them to switch to more plant-based meals. However, we understand there are barriers, with people hesitant to do so because of not knowing how to prepare or cook plant-based meats.”

    The new ready meal range has been picked up by Woolworths. Nationwide rollout has been initiated with 1,081 ready to stock the dishes, designed to become ‘midweek go-to’s’.

    “The launch of ready-made meals, which are already loved family dishes, give us an opportunity to cut through this uncertainty and make it easier than ever for people to give it a go. With the same great taste as the meat equivalents, Aussies can enjoy their favourite meals, while doing good for the planet.” 

    The planetary beef with conventional meat

    New data recently revealed that swapping 20 percent of all beef consumed globally for a sustainable alternative could effectively halve deforestation within 30 years. Additionally, Global carbon emissions could be halved by 2050. The research was published in the scientific journal Nature and specifically cited microbial protein as a viable alternative. 

    In addition to carbon, methane emissions would be drastically reduced, which have been highlighted as being more potent and produced in high volumes due to the continued farming of livestock.

    Targeting eating habits

    V2food assesses consumer trends to steer its developments. Just as its new ready meals have been created in response to a rise in convenience eating, its pork analogue was finalised with the Asian market firmly in mind, allowing for APAC expansion. Prior to the prepared dishes now launching, chicken alternatives were designed to tap into national eating habits.

    Chicken is hugely popular in Australia. Per capita, it’s estimated that 45 kilos a year are consumed. In a bid to help the country embrace plant-based alternatives, v2food revealed three alternative poultry products: tenders, schnitzels and nuggets. The reveal came in March, with a rollout expected this month.

    Australia opening up to vegan foods

    The Australian plant-based market is predicted to reach $9 billion by 2030, due to shifting mindsets and growing consumer acceptance. As new products continue to launch, including Get Plant’d throughout Coles locations, understanding the move will prove vital for companies looking to tap into the trend.

    Taste and nutrition giant Kerry has published research that demonstrates what Australian consumers are looking for, particularly in plant-based burgers. The benchmark was revealed to be “beef but better”, giving manufacturers and brands key insights into how they can secure repeat custom.

    All photos by v2food.

    The post V2food Enters The Ready Meal Category With Four Plant-Based Classics appeared first on Green Queen.

  • Vegan ‘Real World’? UK Plant-Based Brand Invites Influencers To Go Plant-Based For 21 Days On Record In ‘Posh Mansion’

    3 Mins Read Ready-to-eat plant-based brand Squeaky Bean has set up a first-of-its-kind ‘foodie influencer hub’ – Squeaky House to give five content creators the opportunity to be invited for a 21-day stay to encourage plant-based eating and lifestyle among the British audience by engaging the participants in various plant-based activities and living. British-based “lunchtime sidekick” brand Squeaky […]

    The post Vegan ‘Real World’? UK Plant-Based Brand Invites Influencers To Go Plant-Based For 21 Days On Record In ‘Posh Mansion’ appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • British Vegan Chicken Brand Squeaky Bean Awarded Plant-Based Food Manufacturer Of The Year

    3 Mins Read Squeaky Bean, the British ready-to-eat plant-based brand known for its vegan chicken range, has been named the winner of the Plant-Based Food Manufacturer of the Year at the U.K.-based Food Manufacture Excellence Awards 2021. The brand, a subsidiary of food distributor and supplier Winterbotham Darby, was recognised as an example of food businesses successfully pivoting […]

    The post British Vegan Chicken Brand Squeaky Bean Awarded Plant-Based Food Manufacturer Of The Year appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.