An alt-meat startup highlights the role of jackfruit.
The main component of Jack & Annie’s, a line of frozen and chilled plant-based meat substitutes created by a novice businessperson with no prior food industry experience, is jackfruit. After successfully raising $23 million in a Series B fundraise, the Boulder, Colorado-based company is determined to showcase the potential of tropical tree fruit to a global audience.
In India, Annie Ryu initially came across jackfruit at a street vendor’s stall. Impressed by its high fibre content and meat-like texture, the discovery set off a years-long quest to create the largest jackfruit supply chain in the world.
Establishing a supply chain for jackfruit has always been a difficult task due to its immense biodiversity and short shelf life after harvest. But there’s an abundance of the plant since it’s the highest-yielding tree crop in the world. In India, up to 70% of jackfruit is wasted for uses other than household meals.
“We manage the entire just-in-time supply chain through a fully-owned subsidiary in India,” Ms. Ryu stated. “We began pioneering it in order to give rural families additional revenue. Later on, I was introduced to jackfruit as a meat substitute by a farmer. It has been consumed in India in this manner for hundreds, if not thousands of years, but due to the lack of supply chains, it hasn’t really been able to grow.
Almost ten years after Ms. Ryu first came into contact with the plant, Jack & Annie’s debuted with a variety of entire plant-based meat substitutes. Since hitting the shelves late last year, the quickly expanding brand has expanded to over 1,500 retailers nationwide, offering a variety of goods including pulled pork, sausages, breakfast patties, Buffalo wings, and meatballs.
According to Ms. Ryu, the goods stand out in an increasingly competitive market thanks to the meaty texture, robust nutritional profile, and climate-friendly characteristics of jackfruit. According to data from SPINS, during the 24 weeks that concluded on October 3, 2021, Jack & Annie’s was the top nugget in the natural channel and the third-largest frozen brand in the whole plant-based category.
According to Ms. Ryu, “We’re delivering this really needed point of difference for the category, which is that our products are made out of a real whole plant.” “An other area of differentiation is authenticity. The true “Annie” behind Jack & Annie’s is an idealistic college student who started the business with the goal of doing whatever it took to improve the world. Those seeking something genuine can relate to that narrative. It has a stronger resonance than a meat company claiming that declining sales are the reason they wish to switch to a plant-based diet.
You may also like:
Food security in emerging nations: issues and remedies
Are drinks the secret to increasing cannabis use among consumers?
Managing the lack of labour for mushroom picking
The $23 million Series B financing that Jack & Annie’s raised will be used to further expand distribution across the retail, natural, club, and foodservice channels. Additionally, new forms and products using jackfruit are in the works.
“To make jackfruit as accessible as possible, we’re going to leverage our supply chain and our product development capabilities,” Ms. Ryu declared. “That entails providing a diverse range of breakfast, lunch, and dinner options that people of all ages can enjoy.”