A Garner-based meat replacement company has a new target – meal kits.
Rody Hawkins, the founding CEO of Garner-based Improved Nature, said the firm has partnered with a distributor solely focused on meal kit delivery companies.
Meal kit delivery subscriptions – from Blue Apron to HelloFresh – make up a huge vertical that's expected to grow to more than $33 million by 2026. And Improved Nature wants in on the action, Hawkins said.
“Our hot spot has been meat as an ingredient, because we provide a seamless replacement of meat in all sorts of dishes,” he said. “It just works well.”
All that’s left is closing the deal with a major company – something Hawkins says will happen in the next few months as “conversations are already happening.”
Key is the fact that Improved Nature's plant-based products do not need to be refrigerated or frozen – giving the company a leg up on some competing meat alternatives.
Planning for the meal kit vertical has been happening for more than a year. An important piece of the puzzle was maneuvering a four-ounce package option – ideal for “going seamlessly into those meal kits.”
A four-ounce package of the firm’s “Nature’s PRIME” product equals nearly 1.3 pounds of protein, according to the company.
