With New Funding, Something Better Foods Aims to “Democratize” Plant-Based Eating

As consumer interest in plant-based eating continues to grow, GW Chew, founder and CEO of plant-based protein maker Something Better Foods, is working to ensure that meat alternative products are created for, and accessible to, everyone who wants them. With new funding from nonprofit venture capital firm ICA, the California-based company hopes to expand availability of its plant-based proteins to minority communities by focusing both on affordable pricing and by developing a portfolio of products that cater to a wide range of cuisines.

Under the brand name Better Chew, which debuted at Whole Foods in 2019, Something Better Foods offers a wide range of plant-based meat alternatives, including fried chicken, shredded steak, chicken nuggets, fried fish and meatballs. The products, all made from non-GMO soybeans, garbanzo beans and brown rice, are sold frozen for around $5.50 to $6.50 per 7 oz. to 9 oz. multiserve bag.

To improve manufacturing and grow its marketing efforts, last month the company secured a $500,000 investment from ICA, bringing the company’s total equity capital raised to about $1.4 million. GW Chew participated in the firm’s accelerator program in 2017, and said the “mission-aligned” firm, which invests in women and minority-owned businesses, was instrumental in helping the company secure seed funding and loans when it first launched.

“GW has built a business that seamlessly melds innovation, industry-leading products, strong business fundamentals, and a real commitment to equity,” John Gough, Chief Investment Officer at ICA, said in a press release.

For Chew, plant-based eating has been a “life or death issue,” growing up in Southern Maryland with a family of “heavy meat eaters.” After several of his family members passed away from health issues like heart disease and diabetes, he made the “crazy decision” to become a vegan in 2001 and he began developing plant-based meat alternatives that would give consumers healthier food options.

“I’ve always had the thought process that if I could create a product that was similar, and that is good, with the texture that was just as amazing as what I grew up on, many of those people, my family, could have eaten a lot healthier if they had the option,” he said.

Chew opened his first vegan restaurant in Maryland in 2008, eventually launching three restaurants across three states over 10 years, including Oakland, California’s The Veg Hub. These restaurants doubled as his R&D lab, he said, getting feedback from customers and continually iterating. In 2017, as the plant-based protein movement started to pick up steam, Chew saw an opportunity to reach more consumers by developing products for retail. Something Better Foods debuted four Better Chew SKUs — vegan Philly Shredded Streak, Fried Chicken Bar-b-Chew, Shredded Chicken and Fried Chicken — in Whole Foods and other independent retailers in California in 2019.

With both its retail and foodservice business, the goal of the company has always been to expand plant-based food access to minority communities.

“Our mission as a company is to democratize the access to plant protein in communities that need it the most,” he said. “Access and affordability have become really big issues. Why do we have food deserts in this country, especially in marginalized communities, black and brown communities? Why don’t they have access to these types of products?”

To keep its products at an accessible price, Chew said the company is working to “build a sustainable, profitable business with a really great bottom line,” by focusing on supply chain automation to streamline and scale its self-manufacturing process. To further lower the cost-per-serving for customers, Chew said he also will launch bulk pack sizes when the company’s DTC platform debuts this summer, after COVID caused delays in securing frozen shipping partners. The company plans to pilot the platform in the Bay Area before expanding to the full West Coast by mid-summer, with a goal to launch shipping nationwide by the year’s end.

The Better Chew brand is also catering to a diverse customer base by offering a wider range of use occasions. Looking beyond the burgers and grounds that make up much of the category, the company has launched items that can be integrated into a variety of meals “from Vietnamese pho to enchiladas to junk food like cheesesteaks,” he said. Chew added that there are few minority-owned and led brands in the plant-based space, and the fact that Something Better Foods is a black food manufacturer resonates with a lot of consumers.

“There’s a lot of force as it relates to seeing somebody that looks like them actually producing the product, that’s very different,” he said. “You don’t really have a lot of minority manufacturers in the plant-based category, that’s actually scaling up and manufacturing a product.”

Joining the board of the Plant Based Foods Association this year, Chew said he hopes to use this role to advocate for other minority-owned companies in the category. While Chew acknowledges that with business comes competition, he sees Something Better Foods as a team player in the space, with the ultimate goal to “see the plant-based community succeed.”

“We’re okay with being a small fish,” he said. “We just want to do the best we can and make an impact how we can. We just want the world to get better, we want to see lives being changed and we want to see more people going plant based.”