Pork Giant Hormel Debuts “Happy Little Plants” Plant-Based Meat Line

This week, meat brand Hormel launched its plant-based brand Happy Little Plants, marking its entry into the booming plant-based meat industry. The brand’s flagship product is a non-GMO soy-based meat it labels as “Unseasoned Plant-Based Ground Product” that it says cooks similar to ground beef or turkey.

“We are continuing to build an organization that has the agility and adaptability to create products to align with today’s dynamic marketplace,” Jim Splinter, Group Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Hormel Foods, said. “We understand consumers across a spectrum of lifestyles are adopting more flexible attitudes and behaviors when thinking about food, especially given the wide variety of products available in the marketplace. We intend to focus on all the ways plants can help consumers find alternatives in their food routines.”

Hormel’s plant-based ground meat is now available at select Hy-Vee markets in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, with greater distribution planned for coming months. A number of traditional meat companies have launched plant-based meat products in recent months, including Hormel’s biggest competitor Smithfield Foods which will begin rolling out its Pure Farmland plant-based line—which includes breakfast patties, dairy-free-cheese-stuffed burgers, meatballs, and more—at retailers nationwide this month.