The startup, which was available in fewer than 400 Sprouts Farmers Market stores in 23 states less than a year ago, is now in 3,000 stores across a diverse range of channels and retailers, including Whole Foods Market, Meijer, The Giant Company, Save Mart, Cub Foods, Lowes Foods and Fresh Thyme.
By this summer, the company plans to be in 8,000 retail stores, nearly tripling its current number, while offering its products in a series of packages online at meati.com/shop.
The company’s rapid growth has been made possible in part by the opening of Meati’s 100,000+ square foot production facility, called Mega Ranch, in Colorado last January, which has the potential to produce tens of millions of pounds of mycelium in fermentation tanks, which it then processes and packages in Eat Meati’s chops, steaks, breaded bites and jerky.
But Meati’s success isn’t simply a case of “if you build it, they will come.” Rather, President and COO Scott Tassani told FoodNavigator-USA last year that Meati stands out from other plant-based meats that have suffered from slowing sales and volumes because it offers a clean-label, whole-food product that provides nutritional and taste qualities.
“There’s been really good work by existing players to try to generate an experience that’s comparable to the traditional look, taste and texture of [animal protein], and as a result the alternative protein category has exploded. But the challenge for many of these players is that they haven’t had the repeat purchase levels because consumers aren’t willing to compromise on taste or health,” Tassani told FoodNavigator-USA at Natural Products Expo West last March.
