New vegan proteins are coming to the freezer aisle. OZO—part of the Planterra Foods company—is launching frozen plant-based meat products at Kroger stores nationwide. The heat-and-eat line includes a range of items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner including Smokehouse Burgers, Original Breakfast Sausage, Italian Style Plant-Based Meatballs, Plant-Based Nuggets, and Plant-Based Chicken Patties. The burgers and sausages are rolling out now with additional foods following this summer.
Season Lawrence, Packaged Meat Category Manager for Kroger, remarked, “We’re excited to welcome the OZO frozen line into our stores. With more consumers looking for plant-based options to add to their everyday meals, this new line of soy-free products brings exciting new innovation to the frozen aisle and more delicious flavor to the full collection of OZO products.”
The rise of vegan meat is following a similar trajectory to plant milk. The selection of brands and individual products has expanded rapidly in just a matter of a few short years. While companies such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods dominate the wholesale market, there is still room for smaller brands to capture customer’s attention. In 2020, the plant-based meat market was valued at $4.3 billion with an estimated growth to $8.3 billion by 2025. The continued innovation of brands like OZO is contributing to this unprecedented growth.
