Popular UK Plant-Based Food Brand Debuts in US
Vegan food brand Wicked Kitchen is set to launch at 2,500 stores nationwide after landing $14 million of funding.
Credit: Wicked Kitchen
One of the UK’s most popular food brands, Wicked Kitchen, is gearing up to bring the product line to the United States after securing a $14 million Series A funding round. The round was co-led by pioneering plant-based foods venture fund Unovis Asset Management and Thailand-based NRF Nove Foods.
Created by renowned chefs and brothers, Derek and Chad Sarno, Wicked Kitchen first launched in the UK in 2018 in collaboration with Tesco, one of the largest food retailers in the world. From flavorful, convenient lunch and breakfast options to frozen ready meals and meal solutions, the brand’s plant-based lineup has been a hit with consumers, garnering more than $20 million in sales in the UK - an impressive feat for a company less than three years old.
The brand’s expansion to the U.S. comes amid booming interest and demand for more plant-based food options in the country and around the world, as consumers increasingly choose meat-free products due to health, environmental and animal welfare concerns.
“This funding supports the next giant leap in growth and adoption of the Wicked Kitchen product line — a journey that will span the globe,” said Wicked Foods CEO Pete Speranza who will lead the expansion. “As was demonstrated by Tesco, the U.K.’s largest supermarket chain, the breadth of offerings Wicked Kitchen brings to market allows motivated regional retail partners to commit to multi cross-category adoption. What Wicked brings into the U.S. will be unlike anything else that has come before it in the plant-based space.”
The U.S. range will include its “tried and tested” UK products while continuing to adapt its range to meet the specific market demands. Consumers will be able to purchase 20 different products from Wicked Foods diverse plant-based range at 2,500 stores nationwide.
“We know the US consumer is limited in their plant-based options currently available to them,” the Sarno brothers told VegNews. “We also know they haven’t had anything as wicked delicious as what Wicked Kitchen offers, and we look forward to hearing what they have to say about our products.”
The expansion comes as consumers are increasingly choosing plant-based proteins as part of a rise in vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian lifestyles, where almost one in four Americans are eating less meat than ever before for the sake of their health and the planet. And sales figures show that sales of plant-based food have grown 27 percent in the last year, with the market now worth over $7 billion.
“Wicked Kitchen’s expansion to the U.S. aligns with the unprecedented changes already taking place among US consumers with more than 10 million Americans now following a plant-based diet,” said Speranza.
The Sarno Brothers
The Sarno brothers are on a mission to improve the lives of humans and animals globally. They are also the co-founders of Gathered Foods, parent company of the wildly successful plant-based seafood brand Good Catch.
Good Catch are making waves in the sustainable, plant-based seafood world, with their tasty alternatives readily available in grocery stores across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Their products include plant-based fish sticks, fish fillets, fish burgers, crab cakes and fish cakes and are made with a blend of peas, chickpeas, lentils, soy, fava beans and navy beans to deliver the rich flavors and flaky textures of seafood without the bycatch.
Good Catch, like Wicked Kitchen, has attracted the attention of several large investors. Its parent company, Gathered Foods, secured an impressive $26 million in April to ramp up product innovation and dramatically increase the number of Good Catch products on the market. This investment comes after last year's successful Series B funding round, in which the company secured $36.8 million from celebrity investors like Paris Hilton.
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