The Week In Plant-Based: Casa Verde Launches Vegan Latin Food, Alpro And MIGHTY Unveil Milk Alternatives

The vegan news never stops! Each week, the Green Queen team dives into the latest developments for plant-based foods around the world so you can catch up on what’s happening across the industry. This week, Latin food gets a plant-based makeover thanks to Ilinel Food Company. Elsewhere, Chipotle got voted most vegan-friendly QSR in the US and new alt-dairy offerings are proliferating.

US: Ilinel launches ready-to-eat plant-based Latin entrees

Traditional Latin food tends to be heavy on meat-based entrees, so it’s a big deal that Ilinel Food Company has launched its Casa Verde line in an attempt to make these foods entirely plant-based. 

The Casa Verde line currently offers four differrent plant-based takes on traditional Latin meals: Garbanzos Al Pastor, Lentil Mole, Coconut Chowder, and Red Bean Pozole. All meals are ready-to-eat and can be cooked on the stovetop or microwave in just 60 seconds. Head to Casa Verde’s direct-to-consumer site to purchase.  

UK: MIGHTY unveils M.LKOLOGY dairy-free milk 

If you were near London’s South Bank Observation Point this past Monday, you might have noticed alt-protein company MIGHTY dispensing plant-based hot chocolate via a vending machine for free to cheer people up on Blue Monday.

The hot chocolate came courtesy of the company’s new range of dairy-free milk M.LKOLOGY, which launched in supermarkets this week. The milk, made from a precision fermentation process, is available now at Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Morrisons stores.

UK: Plant Alternative launches [Shicken] skewers at Costco

The company, which calls itself a “restaurant-quality meal brand,” specializes in Indian-inspired plant-based dishes that are flash-frozen then delivered to customers’ doorsteps. As of now, they are also available at Costco stores in the UK, priced at £9.99 for 10 skewers.

[Shicken] is a soy-based product. Notably, the company also packs its food in biodegradable and recycled packaging and are working with carbon-neutral delivery partners, according to a recent press release.

US: Chipotle, Taco Bell are top fast food restaurants for vegans

Vegan recipe site Vegan in the Freezer compiled Twitter data from the last month, including tweets, keywords, and hashtags, about eating vegan at fast-food restaurants. 

Chipotle topped the list followed by Taco Bell, Starbucks, and Burger King (the original home of the Impossible Whopper). Sonic, Papa John’s, and Hardee’s were a few names at the bottom of the list.

UK: Alt-dairy company Alpro unveils Not M*lk

Two new products, a whole, and semi-skimmed plant-based milk, are now available in Tesco retail stores throughout the UK.

The milk products are made from European-grown oats. Danone-backed Alpro, which boosted its milk production capacity to 300 million liters at the end of last year, says this is its most convincing analogue of cow’s milk yet. A wider retail launch across the UK is slated for later in the year. 

US: Good PLANeT redesigns its entire line

The Bellevue, Washington-based maker of plant-based cheese is currently showing up a few package design that coincides with an updated formula for the company’s recipes. 

Good PLANeT makes a variety of plant-based shreds and slices the company claims looks, tastes, and, importantly, melt like the real thing. The redesign comes ahead of forthcoming product launches. 

Last year, the company also launched snack-sized “cheese” wedges.

UK: BrewDog and The Vegan Kind collaborate on vegan beer

Scottish brewery BrewDog teamed up with vegan subscription service The Vegan Kind to produce a 5.5% pale ale made with sultana and Columbus Hops and combined with Vienna malts. The beer comes in 330ml cans and will be shipped to members of the BrewDog and Friends subscription service in addition to shoppers on The Vegan Kind’s website.

In an effort to simplify access to vegan products, The Vegan Kind sells more than 5,000 vegan products on its website including foods, makeup, and, now, beverages. 

UK: Violife and One Planet Pizza team up

The plant-based food-maker and popular frozen pizza brand have joined forces to launch a range of new vegan pizza pockets. 

The One Planet Pizza Pocket comes in Mediterranean Vegetable, Peppernomi, and Cheezeburger varieties and will be available for nationwide delivery around the UK directly from One Planet Pizza. The pockets will officially be available from January 20.

Pockets are 100% plant-based and made using Violife’s plant-based cheese.

UK: Meatless Farm launches frozen range at Morrisons stores

The plant-based meat brand has launched five products across 490 Morrisons supermarket stores: burgers, chicken burgers, mince, meatballs, and sausages.

The new range essentially repurposes Meatless Farms’ fresh foods as frozen offerings and is aimed at families that want healthier food options but don’t have endless time to cook.  

Lead image courtesy of Casa Verde.