Retailer Bristol Farms is set to become the first grocer in the country selling unpackaged plant-based meats and entrees behind the glass in its butcher section.
A new Bristol Farms store in Yorba Linda will feature the plant-based items. The milestone reflects the rapidly growing popularity of plant-based meats – including a 23% surge in U.S. retail sales from August 2017-August 2018 along with analyst estimates that nearly 12% of U.S. households now purchase plant-based meat, according to Bristol Farms.
The selection at the Yorba Linda store will include plant-based chicken burgers and breakfast sausage from Huntington Beach-based Before the Butcher as well as items like no-meat taco mix, vegetarian meat loaf, vegetarian stuffed cabbage, chorizo-stuffed potatoes and a Mediterranean meatless patty made by Bristol Farms chefs using Before the Butcher’s ground products.
The Bristol Farms placement also marks Before the Butcher’s entry into the retail market after several years of selling exclusively in the foodservice channel. The company will debut its UNCUT brand of 100% plant-based, non-GMO, gluten-free burgers in frozen food cases in major markets later this quarter – including beef, chicken and turkey burgers and breakfast sausage with a taste, chew and bite nearly indistinguishable from their meat-based namesakes.