Hormel takes new step with plant-based meats in venture with Calif. company
[ad_1]
Hormel ventures further into the meat substitute market through a partnership with a Californian company.
Austin’s Hormel Foods Inc. and Better Meat Co. of Sacramento announced the joint venture on Wednesday. The Better Meat Co. markets a plant-based meat alternative called Rhiza, an all-natural, whole-food mycoprotein made through a potato-based fermentation process the company developed.
“We know our eating culture is changing at a rapid pace and people are curious and ready to try great-tasting, plant-based proteins,” said Fred Halvin, vice president of corporate development at Hormel, in a press release.
On its website, Better Meat Co. describes Rhiza as “a next-generation mycoprotein superfood that is incredibly nutritious, wonderfully sustainable, and the meatiest animal-free protein on the market.” The company touts that the product contains more protein than eggs, more fiber than oats, and more iron than pork, chicken, turkey, or beef.
“Hormel Foods has extensive expertise in both animal and vegetable proteins and we look forward to working together to bring our delicious mycoprotein to the world,” said Doni Curkendall, executive vice president of operations at The Better Meat Co., in a statement. The company was founded in 2018 as a sustainable food tech startup.
The two companies said they will work together to bring a range of Rhiza-based meat substitutes to the market. Hormel has already made several steps into the meat alternatives business with a line of plant-based pizza toppings for restaurants through Burke Corporation, its food service subsidiary.
The new partnership takes place through Hormel’s venture company 199 Ventures, which was founded in 2019 as an incubator for pioneering food products.
[ad_2]