Tyson Foods’ venture into the plant-based protein sector has been hugely successful to date, and should reach new heights in the near future, two of the company’s top executives said.
Tyson Chief Executive Officer Dean Banks and Chief Financial Officer Stewart Glendinning discussed the company’s plant-based protein business during a conference call with journalists on November 16, the same day the company announced the year-end results for the 2020 fiscal year.
Tyson Foods first introduced its plant-based brand, Raised & Rooted in June 2019.
Since that time, and even despite challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Raised & Rooted brand has been distributed more widely than a person would normally expect for a product still in its relative infancy, Glendinning said.
“We’re now in more than 10,000 stores in less than a year, and that’s a huge accomplishment, but it’s part of what you can do when you have the kind of scale that Tyson has,” said Glendinning.
Banks spoke enthusiastically about a new deal that Tyson has reached with Jack in the Box to sell sandwiches featuring Tyson’s plant-based chicken analogue.
He believes similar new partnerships might have already been formed, had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in many quick service restaurants (QSRs) to close their dining rooms. In order to make it easier for QSR employees keep take-out and drive-through lines moving along, a lot of those businesses compressed their menus, Banks said.
However, Banks said it appears many of those businesses are returning to a more diversified menus.
In addition to expanding the plant-based protein products’ reach in the United States, Tyson Foods is now reaching new consumers in Europe. Earlier in November, the company announced it has launched its Raised & Rooted brand through the foodservice channel in Europe.
The European Raised & Rooted range includes five varieties of plant-based products. Those five products are: Light & Crispy Battered Nuggets, Crunchy Breaded Nuggets, Garlic & Herb Dipping Fries, Hot & Spicy Popcorn and Extra Crunchy Tortilla Nachos.
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