Irvine’s Before the Butcher earlier this year became the first vegan brand to see its products hit the meat counter at the supermarket chain Bristol Farms.
Why the meat counter?
“Well, it’s not really the meat section,” founder and President Danny O’Malley recently told the Business Journal. “It’s the protein section, and our [plant-based] products offer loads of protein.”
That is 7 to 18 grams of plant protein to be exact, depending on your choice of Before the Butcher offerings, which includes plant-based beef, chicken and turkey burgers, breakfast sausage patties, chorizo, and pulled pork, among other options.
Your typical hamburger has about 20 grams of protein, a chicken sandwich has around 24 grams.
Carson-based Bristol Farms, which has 13 locations in the region, including Newport Beach and a newer spot in Yorba Linda, is expected to just be the start for Before the Butcher in its grocer push.
Beginning next month, you can expect to see even more of the company’s Uncut product line in as many as 750 grocery stores across Southern California, according to O’Malley, who declined to disclose which chains his firm is working with.
The 2-year-old company aims to be in 3,000 grocery stores by year’s end, with the Midwest a large focus, he said.
Like Bristol Farms, the company aims to have its products sold in grocers’ meat departments, rather than vegetarian sections, according to O’Malley.
Retail Ramp
Before the Butcher’s ambitious retail plan is in large part made possible by its recent partnership with private investors Gregg and Jeff Hamann, who own San Diego-based ground beef producer Jensen Meat Co., which as of five years ago did close to $130 million in sales, according to news reports.
The Hamann brothers, who also own the construction, property management and commercial real estate firm Hamann Cos., acquired a controlling interest in Before the Butcher in May.
The acquisition—financial terms of which were undisclosed—provides the company with access to a $25 million line of credit, in addition to a 90,000-square-foot production space and cold storage warehousing facilities at Jensen Meat’s headquarters, according to the firms.
O’Malley remains part-owner of the company, whose roughly 15,000-square-foot headquarters along McGaw Avenue, not far from the campus of Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW), just completed renovations to allow for more production.
The company is currently renovating a 20,000-square-foot facility under the same roof as Jensen Meat’s headquarters in San Diego. The space will hold additional production facilities and corporate offices.
Once complete, the company expects to have about 60 employees spread between Irvine and San Diego.
“This acquisition validates our diversified product strategy and also gives us both the financial resources and the production capacity to support our strong growth forecasts,” said O’Malley.
“It effectively turns us from a startup to a major player in the space.”
More Options
O’Malley founded Before the Butcher in 2017, after a three-year stint as a sales manager for Los Angeles-based Beyond Meat Inc. (Nasdaq: BYND), one of the industry’s largest maker of plant-based meat substitutes. Beyond Meat has a market value of nearly $10 billion, and has its products at some of Orange County’s top restaurant chains, including Lake Forest-based Del Taco Restaurants Inc. (Nasdaq: TACO), which is among the first chains to offer plant-based meat products (see related story, this page).
As consumer demand for plant-based products escalated, “I saw a tremendous opportunity to provide consumers with products that matched meat in a way that would make people interested in trying the product, again and again,” said O’Malley.
Before the Butcher’s products, which are made with a combination of soy, coconut and canola oils, and natural seasonings, offer more nutritional value at a more affordable price.
A 4-ounce chicken patty can run around $2.99, while vegan chorizo stuffed potatoes retail for about $6.99 per pound.
And perhaps most importantly, according to O’Malley, the products “look, bite, chew and taste like the protein that it mimics.”
The company’s Uncut burger is currently available at several retail chains including Encino-based BurgerIM and Stacked, which has five locations spanning San Diego to Thousand Oaks.
Next year, in addition to increased retail distribution for its precooked products, the company will introduce a new line of products, such as cook-and-serve items in grocery stores.
$19.5B+ Market
According to a recent Barclays analyst report, the plant-based meat market will climb to $140 billion in the next decade.
That is a sevenfold increase over the $19.5 billion in 2018 sales reported by Euromonitor International, which means that Before the Butcher has a bright future ahead.
“It’s clear that plant-based meats are on a growth trajectory. That makes Before the Butcher an ideal companion investment to Jensen Meats,” Jeff Hamann said at the time of his investment in the Irvine business.
Battle of the Alternatives
Though consumers appear more accepting of plant-based meat alternatives, some brands are sticking to more traditional vegetarian-friendly options.
Taco Bell, the largest restaurant chain based in OC, recently announced an updated vegetarian menu, spanning 13 items. They include its popular 7 Layer Burrito and Bean Burrito.
The Irvine-based company also revealed two additions to the menu: the Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme and the Black Bean Quesarito.
“Vegetarian food shouldn’t be a compromise,” Liz Matthews, Global Chief Food Innovation Officer, said in a statement. “It shouldn’t be limited to one item, and it shouldn’t be just for vegetarians.”
The new menu—launched in more than 7,000 locations—follows a successful test in Dallas earlier this year. These items will now be marked with an “easy to spot” vegetarian symbol.
Taco Bell isn’t the only brand trying out vegetarian options.
Newport Beach-based Chipotle serves up tofu sofritas and fajita vegetables, and recently launched a new line of “lifestyle bowls,” designed to fit into paleo, ketogenic, and Whole30 diets.
