Next Gen Foods Rebrands to TiNDLE, Expands Portfolio to Vegan Sausages, Milk & Gelato

Singapore-headquartered Next Gen Foods is rebranding into TiNDLE Foods, its vegan chicken subsidiary, as it announces an expansion into new product categories. The move will see Mwah!, the start-up acquired by the parent company in March, merged into the TiNDLE Foods umbrella. The rebrand will see the company launch its first line of vegan sausages later this year, with a range of plant-based milk and gelato also in the pipeline.

Led by chief technology officer John Seegers, TiNDLE Foods’ expanded platform will serve the development, production and sales of the existing line of vegan chicken, as well as the upcoming range of plant-based sausages and dairy products. The aim is to have a portfolio that covers all meals of the day, from breakfast to dinner and dessert. Its newest product, to be launched in the US later this year, will be a savoury morning breakfast sausage, a spokesperson confirmed to Green Queen Media. (TiNDLE will also roll out Bratwurst and Italian varieties later.)

Founded in 2020, Next Gen Foods was the parent company of TiNDLE Foods, and has raised $130 million in funding through its flagship vegan chicken offering, including a record-breaking Series A round for plant-based meat. It was also named one of Fast Company‘s 10 most innovative Asia-Pacific companies for 2023.

Vegan dairy expansion

The company’s acquisition of London-based vegan dairy startup Mwah! earlier this year will further expand its research and development capabilities and expertise in dairy product development. Mwah!, which makes plant-based Italian-style gelatos, debuted its Madagascan Vanilla flavour in select London eateries this spring.

Led by Mwah! co-founders Damian Piedrahita and Claudia Comini, TiNDLE is expanding its gelato collection and developing a range of plant-based milks. TiNDLE’s spokesperson told Green Queen Media that the brand won’t limit itself to single-source milks (like oat or soy milk). “Instead, our process will be focused on finding the best consistency, flavour, and overall experience – and exploring all types of plant-based ingredients – so it delivers on the same creaminess and taste of cow’s milk.” While there’s no release date yet, they confirmed that they aim to make the milks available in the US, UK and Germany.

TiNDLE CEO Andre Menezes hinted at the company’s product expansion plans when speaking to Green Queen Media in March: “When Timo [Recker, co-founder and chairman] and I started Next Gen in 2020, we didn’t intend to only develop one core product and stick with it. We wanted to offer a diverse range of global food brands and products… We started with chicken first, of course, but we’re always looking to enter other categories – including other meats, seafood and dairy.”

Multi-ingredient plant milks

Menezes also alluded to the company’s multi-ingredient alt-milk approach: “We also see immense growth in the plant-based dairy market, which is expected to reach over $31.5B by 2028. Right now, many plant-based dairy products are focused on the source (i.e., oat milk from oats, soy milk from soy, etc.) and not necessarily on experience and flavour.”

He was inspired by Damian and Claudia’s approach. “They aren’t limiting themselves to a dairy alternative source (e.g. cashews, dates, oats, etc.),” he explained, “but instead are focused on the right source for the right consistency and creaminess of the product being developed.”

Multi-ingredient, ‘blended’ plant-based milks are an emerging category. These don’t necessarily fall into the biomass-fermented category, but instead use a blend of different ingredients to mimic the flavour and texture of dairy. Chilean food tech startup NotCo is a pioneer here: its NotMilk range is a blend of cabbage, chicory and pea protein.

In the UK, Rebel Kitchen has two blends – oat and coconut, and coconut and cashew – while Alpro’s cross-European This Is Not M*lk range features oat and pea protein. Similarly, in India, Bagrrys produces an oat, cashew and almond milk, Nourish You offers one that pairs oats with finger millets, srghum, pearl millets and amaranth, and One Good makes a cashew, oat and millet milk.