The Canada-based restaurant chain will be the first Canadian restaurant to carry Atlas Monroe’s plant-based fried chicken.
Copper Branch and Atlas Monroe have partnered to launch a Nashville fried chicken sandwich, the first time the vegan fried chicken product will be introduced to Canadian customers. The world’s largest 100% plant-based restaurant chain, Copper Branch, is based in Canada and operates over 40 restaurant locations around the world, including the US and Western Europe. Their decision to partner with Atlas Monroe—a Black- and woman-owned plant-based meat brand founded by Deborah Torres—comes after Torres won the first pitch competition held by Copper Branch and the Vegan Women Summit.
“We’re proud to bring something truly unique to the Canadian plant-based market while also championing not just women entrepreneurs but also women entrepreneurs of color who are often underrepresented in the world of food innovation,” Trish Paterson, CEO of Copper Branch, told VegOut. “We know people are not only going to love this Nashville chicken sandwich but also the story of how it came to be.”
Vegan Women Summit Aims to Increase Access to Foodservice
Vegan Women Summit (VWS) is a global events and media organization created to empower women to build a kinder, more sustainable world. The first pitch contest between VWS and Copper Branch was designed to increase access to foodservice and global distribution for women founders around the world, many of which often go overlooked and underfunded.
“Our VWS community is powered by over 25,000 women founders and leaders around the world focused on the future of plant-based innovation,” Jennifer Stojkovic, CEO of Vegan Women Summit, told VegOut. For far too long, these women have been underfunded, overlooked, and underrepresented in the industry. That’s why we are proud to work with Trish and the Copper Branch team to bring incredible leaders like Deborah to the forefront and to accelerate her brand, Atlas Monroe, through a North America-wide launch.”
Will Atlas Monroe Become the Largest Manufacturer of Vegan Fried Chicken?
Headquartered in San Diego, California, Atlas Monroe made its first appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank, when Torres and her co-founder Jonathan turned down a $1 million dollar offer from Mark Cuban and Rohan Oza to acquire 100% ownership in the company.
Despite passing on the deal, Atlas Monroe has gone on to become quite successful and opened a two-story, multi-million dollar manufacturing plant in 2021, capable of producing one million pounds of plant-based fried chicken per year. The success of the company has also allowed for Atlas Monroe to expand their offerings, which now features dishes like vegan apple wood-fired ribs, mac ‘n’ cheese with chives, and cheesy baked lasagna.
The goal of the company is to illustrate that living a healthier lifestyle doesn’t have to be bland but can be exciting and delicious. In addition, Atlas Monroe is reportedly set to become the largest manufacturer of vegan fried chicken in the world.
On the partnership with Copper Branch, Torres said “Copper Branch is an amazing company doing amazing things, and working with them and having this opportunity is truly extraordinary.”
Torres adds “For years we’ve had people asking when we were coming to Canada, and we’re so excited to finally get this chance to bring our product to them in the form of this delicious sandwich. It’s truly special.”
The Nashville fried chicken sandwich is available now for a limited time at Copper Branch locations throughout Canada and the US.
