Re-inventing the veggie patty
Plant-based meats and patties are not exactly a recent innovation. They have been around for decades and were popular among vegans and vegetarians throughout. However, in recent years, the traditional veggie burger has evolved to a large extent. The vegetarian patty, having traversed a series of iterations, now sports a look and feel that is so close to beef patties (with their “bleeding” texture) that even regular meat-eaters are all full of praise for it. But how and where did this transformation begin? That’s right. The new age patty took shape in none other than California, the hotbed of innovations. Read on to find out more about how this happened
A Hop from London to Silicon Valley
Although it is hard to pinpoint the exact origin of the plant-based burger, it is commonly known that it was Gregory Sams, who, in the early 1980s, made a version of the traditional veggie burger that was commercially viable. In a few years, the United States brand Wholesome and Hearty Foods released the Gardenburger®, which was widely popular. Soon, Sun Foods launched the Boca Burger,® which was lapped up by consumers through several burger joints in the country.
But these were all based on the traditional veggie burger. About two decades later, in 2009, a spark originated in Silicon Valley. Beyond Meat® was formed and it completely changed the face of the plant-based burger. Thus, the modern-day faux meat competing with beef was born in the heart of California.
The True Pioneers
Ethan Brown, the founder of Beyond Meat, came up with the idea of the modern beef lookalike plant-based burger when he realized that vegans, too, relish the idea of fast food. The idea was executed rapidly and in 2014, they entered into a partnership with Don Lee Farms® to develop and launch the Beyond Meat® products. For a couple of years, the partnership worked well, until Beyond Meat evaded the agreement and was eventually sued by Don Lee Farms®.
Don Lee Farms™, on the other hand, had already launched a veggie burger in 2005 and they kept improving it until they recently released an organic version of their most modernized plant-based burger. Parallelly, Impossible Foods™, the biggest rival of Beyond Meat®, was founded in 2011 with the sole vision of creating signature plant-based meats and patties that resemble real meat in every possible way. What is common between all of these brands? They are all based out of California.
Retail Follows Suit
The diverse population of California, thanks to employees working in Silicon Valley from all over the world and the wealthy inhabitants around Los Angeles, provides ample opportunities for food chains to release new products. As soon as the pioneers innovated the new age faux-meat burgers, retail stores and food joints in the state began stocking and selling these to the experiment-minded consumers.
Vegans and meat-lovers both set foot in stores such as Burgerlords™ and Wahlburgers®to munch on the promising plant-based patties. While Burgerlords® are proud of their in-house veggie burger, took the safer route and added the Impossible Burger® to their menu.
Soon, San Francisco-based Cockscomb and Jardiniere began selling the Impossible Burger™, with Crossroads Kitchen in Los Angeles following their footsteps. And then, of course, there is Whole Foods Store, who were originally customers of Don Lee Farms, but now appease their customers by selling Beyond Meat products. It is almost expected that a fierce competition in this industry will result in an occasional lawsuit between either startups or veterans in the food business. Lawsuit between Don Lee Farms™ and Beyond Meat™ is still an ongoing one as of February 2020.
California- A Home of Startups
California has made a name for itself not just because it hosts Hollywood but also because almost all the major innovations in the world have happened here in the last few decades and they continue to happen. Leading the world in technology, California boasts of startups that are ever ready to take on new ventures. It is, therefore, no surprise that the sharpest minds that have redone the plant-based burger call California their home. The state’s creative culture, business acumen, investment opportunities, and zealous consumers have all added to the revolution of the modern-day meatless meat industry.