Kroger Co. announced that it is going to cater to the plant-based meat alternative consumer interests with a new menu of items being added to their Simple Truth product line. The announcement was made on Thursday at the Good Food Institute Conference in San Francisco, California.
The company’s plant-based “beef” burgers, cookie dough, sour cream and more will be on shelves in over 2,800 stores this fall. Kroger will be competing with Impossible, Beyond, Nestlé and more but say they will make affordability their key driver.
“As more of our customers embrace a flexitarian lifestyle, choosing to prioritize healthier food choices and reduce their environmental footprint, we are excited to meet their needs,” said Gil Phipps, Kroger vice president of Our Brands, said at the Good Food Conference. “We are introducing our Simple Truth Plant Based collection to offer even more fresh, remarkably delicious, animal-free food to provide shoppers with a greater selection of choices that are more accessible and affordable.”
Kroger is one of America’s largest grocery chains. They said that they are committed to catering to their consumer needs by prioritizing healthy food choices and reducing their environmental footprint.
Today Gil Phipps, Kroger’s VP of Our Brands, announced the Simple Truth® Plant Based collection on stage at @GoodFoodInst’s #GoodFoodConference, sharing his POV on the increasing number of consumers, especially millennials and women, who want meat and dairy alternatives. pic.twitter.com/vD7N4BtNQx
— Kroger News (@KrogerNews) September 5, 2019
According to the Wall Street Journal, Beyond Meat’s market share price has increased 500 percent since May 2019. This places their company’s value at $10 billion, which is 100 times its sales in 2018. With that in mind, according to Gallup, a global analytics firm, only five percent of the US population consider themselves to be vegetarian.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) said that “GHGs [greenhouse gases] produced from the US agricultural system declined by 28% with elimination of farmed animals.” Relying solely on vegetables, however, would also create a food supply incapable of supporting the US population’s nutritional requirements.
The meatless food market has become the most popular quick-serve restaurant trend of 2019 and Kroger has chosen to get on board. The ingredients and nutrition labels for the new additions to the Simple Truth product line have not yet been revealed but Phipps said to CNET, “we’re going to stand for being delicious and proud of what’s not in our foods.”
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to clarify information from the NCBI
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