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Dive Briefing:
- Dairy alternative brand Elmhurst 1925, known for its clean-ingredient milk and creamer, is entering another category with the launch of TerraMeat Plant-Based Chicken.
- This new product is the company's first innovation in the plant-based protein category. The company said it reaffirmed its commitment to setting the standard for simplicity and nutrition in the plant-based food industry.
- TerraMeat Plant-Based Chicken'n is sold as a dry powder and contains only one ingredient: industrial hemp. It also boasts 26 grams of complete protein per serving, double that of Impossible Foods chicken nuggets.
Dive Insight:
Food scientist Dr. Cheryl Mitchell created Elmhurst 1925's new plant-based chicken product, which started with hemp protein, a powder derived from industrial hemp.
The ingredients are as follows: It is a drought-tolerant crop that requires significantly less water than other fiber plants. The company uses the Hyrdrorelease method, which uses water to release the natural proteins of the hemp grain into a highly digestible, functional powder, maintaining the full nutritional profile.
TerraMeat actually starts as a dry powder. Consumers mix it with water and oil and heat the mixture in the microwave to make their own cutlets. According to Elmhurst, these recipes allow consumers to get the texture and layers they get from traditional meats without the use of fillers, texturizers, bleachers and other additives.
“We’re applying the same commitment to innovation and quality that we’ve applied to plant-based dairy,” Elmhurst 1925 CEO Henry Schwartz said in a statement. “Consumers are increasingly looking for simple-ingredient, clean-label alternatives to the ultra-processed options on the market.”
Elmhurst’s Termit currently uses the fewest ingredients of any plant-based chicken product, the company says. “Termit cutlets can be baked, grilled, boiled or fried, offering the versatility of traditional chicken, making them appealing to home cooks and professional chefs alike.”
Elmhurst 1925 started out as a dairy alternative with plant-based milk. The company has since added more products, including barista milk blends and creamers, plant-based sour cream, and most recently, ready-made lattes.
But Elmhurst's TerraMeat launch is a first for alternative proteins.
The plant-based protein sector has been in decline for the past few years, and companies are scrambling to innovate to keep up. For example, Beyond Meat launched a completely new recipe and focused on nutrition and wellness, but the company's sales are still declining, so these changes haven't come to fruition.
Impossible Foods, on the other hand, is looking to appeal to a wider customer base by targeting meat-eaters with new packaging and opening offline stores.
