360 Sprouts Farmers Markets Just Added Vegan Meat From Abbot’s Butcher

Abbot’s Butcher, the maker of premium plant-based chorizo and ground beef, has expanded its retail footprint, launching in more than 360 Sprouts Farmers Markets locations across the U.S. nationwide. The roll-out comes as the plant-based retail industry experiences a surge in demand, driven by consumers looking for healthier and more sustainable options and the pandemic-related rise in cooking at home. 

California-based Abbot’s Butcher has now added more than 360 Sprouts Farmers Markets stores across the U.S. to its grocery footprint. Since May, the natural retailer has been stocking Abbot’s Butcher’s range of premium plant-based meat products together with the frozen meat section, a move that the startup says is indicative of the “mainstream acceptance of meat alternatives.” 

Other chains such as Kroger have been making similar moves to place plant-based meats in the meat aisle, finding higher sales as a result.

Consumers are paying an increasing amount of attention to food labels and searching for cleaner options, alternative proteins and premium product variety.

Abbot’s Butcher

Abbot’s Vegan Range at Sprouts

Abbot’s Butcher’s range at Sprouts Farmers Markets will include its Slow Roasted Chick’n, Savory Ground Beef and Spanish Smoked Chorizo, all made from pea protein, vegetables, herbs, spices, plant-based oils and vinegars. The beef and chorizo alternatives are also gluten-free. 

“We’re on a mission to bring craftsmanship to the table — that’s why we only use wholesome, high-quality ingredients that truly nourish our bodies,” said founder and CEO Kerry Song highlighting that the brand’s plant-based proteins contain only recognisable ingredients, appealing to the rising clean label consumer trend. 

“Consumers are paying an increasing amount of attention to food labels and searching for cleaner options, alternative proteins and premium product variety,” said the company in a press statement. 

Song added that Abbot’s Butcher’s range is designed to be the “modern-day essentials that deliver on taste, texture and quality” for consumers. 

We’re on a mission to bring craftsmanship to the table — that’s why we only use wholesome, high-quality ingredients that truly nourish our bodies.

Kerry Song, Founder & CEO, Abbot’s Butcher

Since its inception in 2017, the brand is also carried across 200 other grocery stores, as well as farmers markets in Southern California and partnering restaurants. 

The brand says that its latest major retail footprint expansion with Sprouts Farmers Markets comes as demand for plant-based foods reaches an all-time high. In 2020, plant-based retail sales in the U.S. reached US$7 billion for the first time, and 92% of first-time buyers of plant-based meat products in the country during the pandemic say they plan to continue doing so for the foreseeable future. 

Covid-19 has also driven the rise in home-cooking, with a Social Nature global market report in March this year finding 59% of consumers are now preparing most of their meals at home. 

A number of other plant-based brands have doubled down on retail in recent months, including British company Meatless Farm’s expansion of their retail and e-commerce distribution in the U.S., and food tech giant Impossible Foods growing its retail footprint by more than 100-fold amid the pandemic. 

Lead image courtesy of Abbot’s Butcher.