Scottish Vegan Chicken Company to Launch in the US

Scottish vegan startup Daring Foods recently partnered with major foodservice provider Rastelli Foods Group to bring its plant-based chicken products to the United States market. Rastelli will invest $10 million in the company and will have exclusive rights to sell Daring Foods’ products—such as vegan chicken nuggets, ground meat, and burgers—to restaurants and retailers nationwide. Rastelli will also support Daring’s push into direct-to-consumer product delivery in February 2020. Created three years ago, Daring Foods is a clean-label alternative to its animal-based counterpart. “Our goal with the launch of Daring Foods was to make the swap to plant-based meat as simple as possible. We focused on bridging the taste gap, successfully taken on the daunting task of replacing a beloved staple in our diet with an alternative that you can cook with, tastes great, and is good for you,” Ross Mackay, co-founder and CEO of Daring Foods, said. “After 24 months of hard work, introducing Daring is an incredibly important step for us. With Rastelli’s, we reach customers across the nation all at once; we are not limited in any way.” Earlier this year, Mackay announced the company’s goal of selling £7 million ($9 million) worth of vegan meat products in 2019, a goal he aimed to achieve with the help of the company’s hen ambassador “Kim Kardashi-hen.” In July, the company partnered with foodservice provider Brakes Scotland to bring its vegan meat products to 8,000 restaurants, schools, and hotels in Scotland.