THIS™, the creators of hyper-realistic plant-based food for meat lovers, is launching into 544 Sainsbury’s stores this week.
Sainsbury’s will stock the company’s bestseller, THIS™ Isn’t Bacon, which has already sold 4.5million portions in the past year, plus THIS™ Isn’t Chicken Salt & Pepper pieces.
Whilst most companies are focused on beef/burger alternatives, THIS™ plans to take a bite of the global plant-based meat market expected to be worth $12.41 billion in 2020 with this latest national distribution deal and its chicken and bacon alternatives.
Andy Shovel, Co-Founder of THIS™ commented: “It’s an absolutely massive milestone for THIS™ to be launching into Sainsbury’s and it forms a significant part of our growth plans. We’re grateful that we can add something new and exciting to the supermarket’s plant-based offering with our bacon and chicken alternatives, which mimic meat in taste, texture, appearance and high protein content. Hopefully, we can onboard even more meat-lovers who haven’t yet been won over by plant-based food.”
The news comes as the realistic plant-based meat company continues to cross boundaries. THIS™ recently became the first vegan meat to feature on a UK Michelin star restaurant menu, The Harwood Arms, and attracted investment from international footballer, Chris Smalling, when the brand raised £4m in a crowd-funded Seedrs campaign.
To accelerate growth, THIS™ also plans to invest £1m into a plant-based innovation centre.
About THIS™
THIS™ was set up by meat lovers, Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman, who successfully exited beef burger chain Chosen Bun. They channeled their in-depth knowledge of meat to create THIS™, arguably the most realistic chicken and bacon meat-alternatives in the world. Following two years of research and development, partnering with world-leading texture scientists and flavourists they made THIS™. The products mimic meat in taste, texture, appearance and versatility, using peas and soya beans as the base.
THIS™ challenges legacy “plant-based meat” brands by targeting meat-reducers as opposed to purely vegans.
