Expo West Notebook: Impossible Has the Meats, Theo’s Has the Veggies

Our latest news roundup from Expo West 2024 highlights a new “meatier” look for Impossible Foods, new products and distribution for veggie snack maker Theo’s, the debut of Redbud Brands’ new cereal for adults, and a handful of pasta brands looking to break out of the pack.

Impossible Foods Targets Wider Audience With ‘Meatier’ Brand Identity

Gearing up to combat declining retail sales in the plant-based meat category, Impossible Foods (#523) today unveiled new packaging and branding that highlights its products’ flavor and nutrition profiles, which have proved to be two of the biggest deterrents to widespread alt-meat adoption. In 2022, plant-based meat sales were down slightly by 1% while unit sales were down by 8%, according to FMI research.

The marketing move comes after CEO Peter McGuiness at an AdWeek conference last year said the plant-based meat industry’s marketing’s “wokeness” has hurt the category. The revamp, created by Impossible’s in-house marketing and creative teams in partnership with branding agency Jones Knowles Ritchie, centers around a bright red aesthetic intended to appeal to “the carnivorous cravings” of meat eaters across the full consumer journey.”

Impossible believes that on-shelf the bold red packaging reinforces to consumers the fact Impossible products taste, cook and satisfy like meat from animals.

“We’re not just growing a brand, we’re growing an entire category,” said chief marketing and creative officer Leslie Sims in a statement. “For a long time, meat eaters didn’t see us as something for them. But our mission relies on attracting meat eaters, so we wanted to do what we could to be more inviting in our approach and messaging. We’re confident that once they try us, they’ll be in.”

The updated packaging is slated to hit shelves across the country over the coming weeks and then roll out overseas later this year. The brand’s newest product, the Impossible Beef Hot Dog, will be the first new Impossible product to feature the red packaging.

Impossible isn’t the only alt-meat brand betting on franks as of late. At the show, The Kraft Heinz Not Co (#N1732 ) is showcasing the first ever plant-based Oscar Mayer offerings and the first plant-based meat innovation from the joint venture between the Kraft Heinz Company and The Not Company. Oscar Mayer NotHotDogs and NotSausages are slated to roll out to undisclosed “major retailers” nationwide later this year.

Theo’s Expands Its Repertoire, Lands National Distribution

Theo’s Plant Based (#8402) has found a new root vegetable to snack on. The upcycled, USDA organic certified veggie jerky brand is now working with sweet potato as the brand’s first line extension out of beets.

The Sweet Potato Jerky retails for $7.99 per 2 oz. bag and is available in four flavors: Garlic Herb, Maple Dijon, Miso Nori, and Korean BBQ. The new product will also usher in a new name for the brand swapping out the “Plant-Based” moniker for ‘Veggies” in coming months.

“The whole plant-based angle wasn’t doing justice to what we were trying to do,” said co-founder Theo Mourad.

The brand isn’t stopping with just two varieties, either: it’s gearing up for a third root vegetable “to join the arsenal,” Mourad said, as part of a Whole Foods exclusive release that was described as a “single-serving vegetable product” that is more of an impulse purchase “you pop in your mouth, eat quick and get instant nutrition.”

The mystery innovation will hit Whole Foods stores in the fall and help add to the distribution gains the brand has been building up to this year. Theo’s is going national in Sprouts Farmers Markets in May with two SKUs of Beet Jerky (Ginger Teriyaki and Savory BBQ) and three SKUs of Sweet Potato (Garlic Herb, Maple Dijon and Miso Nori). In July, the brand will also go into around 140 Fresh Market locations with one variety each of Beet (Ginger Teriyaki) and Sweet Potato Jerky (Maple Dijon).

Initially launching in retail a year ago, Theo’s went to market with its Beet Jerky in select Midwestern Whole Foods stores finding distribution with independents, select 7-Eleven stores in Chicago, and Pop Up Grocer throughout the year.

All this growth and innovation has been possible as the brand switched manufacturers last year moving operations to Michigan where it is closer to Theo’s agricultural partners. The new manufacturing partner also allowed the brand to significantly increase capacity while streamlining efficiency, improving margins from 25% to 45%.

Redbud Brands Launches Chef Driven Cereal Brand

Austin, Texas-based venture studio RedBud Brands unveiled a new brand it incubated in-house, Best Behavior (#N1439), a better-for-you cereal line launching in three flavors, Cinnamon Brioche, Mocha Latte and Blueberry Buttermilk.

Best Behavior’s cereal puffs are made with Milk Protein Crisp and carry a simple, short ingredient list. For example, the Blueberry variety is flavored with real blueberry powder. The products contain between 11 to 12 grams of protein, 5 to 6 grams of fiber and 6 grams of sugar per serving. The products are available for an SRP of $10.99 per 7 oz. box.

While Best Behavior was developed by RedBud in-house, Aron Pobereskin, a former chef turned product formulator who serves as RedBud’s head of innovation, has assumed the title of founder. Pobereskin has also advised companies such as HumanCo, Barilla and JoyDays on their respective products.

According to Anish Sheth, operating partner at Redbud Brands, the new chef-driven cereal company has been designed for adults and will be positioned that way. He believes the brand brings incremental value to the better-for-you cereal set, and built on the new BFY wave of cereal that brands like Magic Spoon and Catalina Crunch have helped pioneer. Currently, the products are available online in 3-packs and will roll out in retail with a regional approach to distribution, Sheth said.

Also from RedBud’s portfolio, regenerative cheese cracker brand Cheddies (#N1438) unveiled a new Chili Lime flavor at the show. The brand has also secured a slate of new distribution partners spanning both conventional and natural grocery, Sheth highlighted, while noting an upcoming nationwide launch at Whole Foods.

Pasta Bases Take New Forms

The pasta category has become a launchpad for novel ingredient inclusions and this year’s Expo West featured a range of new takes on a classic noodle.

Pastifico exhibited its heirloom wheat based pastas in seven varieties. According to the brand’s founder, all of the pastas are made with heirloom and ancient varieties of organic wheat which is milled into flour in-house. The grains used are intended to help promote crop rotations and in-field biodiversity.

The brand has been slowly growing the pasta business locally in Boulder, Colo. for the past five years and began selling in retail in the past three years, including getting on-shelf at Whole Foods in the Rocky Mountain region, Erewhon, in addition to a handful of regional grocers.

Elsewhere under the Fresh Ideas Organic Marketplace tent, 123Dough showed off a new creation: Sourdough Pasta and Ramen noodles. The ancient grain based noodles were made by the NYC-based bakery initially as an experiment, said a brand spokesperson. The noodles undergo a long fermentation process of about two to three days which helps ease how they are digested. The products are primarily sold in the New York area and online, where a 7 oz. box is priced at $14.

Lastly, Italian food company Andriani S.p.A. announced the launch of Felicia, a new pasta brand touting nearly 10 SKUs with inclusions that range from spirulina to buckwheat. The organic pastas are made with allergen-free ingredients and include a base of whole grains, chickpeas, lentils and other superfoods.