Greenleaf Foods, parent of the Lightlife and Field Roast brands of plant-based meat alternatives, is rolling out its first whole-muscle chicken analog exclusively in Whole Foods’ prepared foods departments across the U.S. and Canada.
The new Lightlife-brand product, made using pea protein, will be featured in Whole Foods’ new Market Classic Vegan-Chicken Salad, among other prepared dishes, a spokesperson for Greenleaf Foods told SFA News Daily.
“The product will appear in a variety of recipes across Whole Foods Market’s hot bar, cold salad bar, and grab-and-go offerings,” the spokesperson said.
Greenleaf collaborated with Whole Foods’ culinary team to develop the product, which the manufacturer said has a taste, color, and pull-apart texture that mimics real chicken.
“Lightlife’s plant-based chicken is a great product to add to our portfolio,” said Amy Eubanks, principal program manager of global culinary development at Whole Foods, in a statement. “It’s super tasty and works great as an alternative for chicken. I’m looking forward to the bright future we have with Greenleaf Foods and the innovations they have on the horizon.”
While this is the first Greenleaf Foods product to be available in Whole Foods’ prepared-foods department, the retailer currently carries more than 50 plant-based items from Greenleaf’s Lightlife and Field Roast brands, including plant-based burgers, sausages, pepperoni and cheese.
The new whole-muscle chicken alternative, which is not available as a stand-alone product for retail sale, follows the recent introduction of Lightlife breaded plant-based chicken tenders and filets at retail stores, which the company said are the first fresh, breaded plant-based chicken products designed to be merchandised alongside fresh meat.
Lightlife last month also launched a new ad campaign promoting the brand’s “clean” positioning, which is the result of a year spent simplifying its ingredient labels. Actress and singer Awkwafina voices the ads for the new campaign.
Greenleaf Foods is a subsidiary of Maple Leaf Foods, a diversified food company with a portfolio of animal-based meat brands.
Both Lightlife and Field Roast have been aggressively expanding in retail and restaurant venues, including providing the plant-based pepperoni for Little Caesar’s Planteroni Pizza, which launched in several markets across the U.S. in July.
While several makers of plant-based makers of alternative meats have introduced products in the form of grounds, crumbles or sausages, creating plant-based meat analogs than mimic whole muscle cuts have been more elusive for manufacturers.
Both Impossible Foods and Beyond, two of the leading players in the plant-based burger and sausage market, are reportedly working on developing plant-based whole-muscle alternatives. They both also recently debuted plant-based chicken nuggets at retail.
“We are starting to work on whole muscle meats,” Dennis Woodside, president of Impossible Foods, said in a recent interview with CNBC. “Think about chicken breast, think about steak, think about thinks like bacon. We know that we can use plant to create the same fibrous feel as whole muscle meats.”
Related: Publix Introduces Chickenless Tenders; Chipotle Tests Plant-Based 'Chorizo'.
Image: Whole Foods