Actual Veggies’s Veggie Burger Displaces ‘Legacy’ Brand at Fortune 100 Cafeterias

New York-based Actual Veggies has become the exclusive veggie burger supplier for Compass Group-owned Eurest, the caterer for some of the biggest companies in the US.

Employees at Americas largest companies, including the majority of the Fortune 100, will now be able to order burgers made from black beans and kale and broccoli, with their caterer responding to a shift in consumer preferences for plant-based food.

Eurest, the corporate-focused arm of the world’s largest catering company, Compass Group, has signed an exclusive deal with New York startup Actual Veggies, whose patties will replace a “legacy brand” of veggie burgers across the 1,600+ sites it serves nationwide.

The move comes after Eurest’s research showed that taste is the leading factor influencing consumers to choose plant-forward menu items, followed by health benefits.

“This move signals a real shift in consumer and operator preferences,” Actual Veggies co-founder and co-CEO Jason Rosenbaum tells Green Queen. “People are looking for food made with real, recognisable ingredients – not ultra-processed meat alternatives.”

He adds: “Actual Veggies isn’t trying to mimic meat. We’re celebrating vegetables, and this partnership proves there’s a strong demand for that. Whole-food plant-based options are no longer niche – they’re becoming the standard.”

A partnership born out of a grocery run

Eurest’s switch to Actual Veggies was spearheaded by Chris Ivens-Brown, chief culinary officer for Compass Group North America. He purchased a box of Actual Veggies from the grocery store and was so impressed that he was compelled to submit an inquiry to learn more about the company.

This kicked off the start of R&D from the Eurest culinary team, who subsequently developed a variety of recipes to highlight the flavours and texture people look for in a burger. Eurest noted how Actual Veggies’s burgers are made using fresh vegetables, grains, and legumes, matching its expectations for flavour and appearance.

“We’re focused on culinary innovation, both through our chef-driven concepts and the partners we collaborate with. Actual Veggies is pushing the category forward with products that deliver on taste, quality and innovation,” says Ivens-Brown.

Actual Veggie’s signature black bean patty – a permanent addition to Eurest’s menu – also contains red pepper, caramelised onions, carrots, parsnips, lemons, and oats. Its other burgers will be rotated as limited seasonal promotions too. This spring, Eurest’s sites will feature various dishes using the Super Greens burger, which contains a base of broccoli, kale, and spinach.

“The burgers will be prepared by Eurest’s culinary teams and served in a variety of ways depending on the café – as classic veggie burger builds, bowls, and other customisable options,” says Hailey Swartz, co-founder and co-CEO of Actual Veggies. “We designed our burgers to be chef-friendly and versatile, so they’re easy to work with while delivering bold, recognizable flavour.”

Actual Veggies teases 2025 as its biggest year yet

Actual Veggies had announced its partnership with Compass Group in February, when it closed a $7M Series A funding round. Swartz notes that the Eurest corporate dining deal is a “major step, but just the beginning”: “We’re actively exploring opportunities with Compass and other partners to expand into schools, hospitals, and other non-commercial foodservice sectors where better-for-you food is in high demand.”

It comes at a time when plant-based meat is struggling to capture wallet share. Yearly sales in retail continued to fall in 2024, with the downtick steady at around 9%. Meanwhile, of the 53% of Americans who have tried meat analogues, a quarter are “lapsed consumers” who haven’t eaten them in the previous year, according to a poll by Morning Consult for the Good Food Institute.

Much of this can be attributed to a backlash against ultra-processed foods, which some studies have described as harmful to health, though experts have cautioned that processing shouldn’t be directly linked with nutrition.

“There’s been a growing awareness around clean eating, ingredient transparency, and the environmental impact of what we eat,” argues Swartz. “Consumers want food that’s both healthy and trustworthy. People are reading labels more carefully – and they’re choosing options that feel real, nourishing, and minimally processed.”

It’s why brands like Actual Veggies are finding success – its annual revenues grew by 125% in 2024, when it doubled its distribution. Its veggie burgers and fries are available at over 6,500 retail stores in the US, including Albertsons, Kroger, Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, and Costco.

Swartz says 2025 is shaping up to be the firm’s biggest year yet: “We’re expanding deeper into foodservice, scaling retail distribution, and introducing new products that stay true to our clean-label mission. This Eurest partnership has opened the door for even more growth in corporate dining, and we’re already in talks to bring our burgers to new channels – including healthcare, education, and hospitality.”