Tyson Foods debuts alternative meat products

Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods has introduced the company’s first plant-based and blended products, along with its new Raised & Rooted brand.

The initial products under this new brand, which will launch with several major retail customers this year, include plant-based nuggets as well as blended burgers made with a combination of beef and plants. In addition, the company’s existing Aidells brand has launched Aidells Whole Blends sausage and meatballs, made with chicken and plant-based ingredients.

The Raised & Rooted nuggets, made from a blend of pea protein isolate and other plant ingredients, will launch through national retailers in late summer. The blended burgers, made with Angus beef and pea protein isolate, will launch this fall.

“Today’s consumers are seeking more protein options so we’re creating new products for the growing number of people open to flexible diets that include both meat and plant-based protein,” said Noel White, president and CEO of Tyson Foods. “For us, this is about ‘and’ – not ‘or.’ We remain firmly committed to our growing traditional meat business and expect to be a market leader in alternative protein, which is experiencing double-digit growth and could someday be a billion-dollar business for our company.”

The announcement comes shortly after the company sold its stake in meatless production company Beyond Meat. Beyond Meat’s CEO, Ethan Brown, told CNBC that the company is trying to capture the meat industry’s customers. Its gluten- and soy-free products are meant to more closely resemble and taste like meat than previous iterations of veggie burgers.