More Than 200 Canadian Retailers to Stock Vegan Meat From Planterra Foods OZO Label

Plant-based protein start-up Planterra Foods signed a supply agreement with UNFI Canada, a subsidiary of UNFI, the largest publicly traded grocery distributor in North America to distribute its line of OZO products in over 200 retail locations across Canada.

Colorado-based Planterra Foods’ brand line of OZO products like plant-based burgers, ground and Mexican seasoned ground, is now available to purchase in over 200 retails stores across Canada.

Through this agreement with UNFI, consumers can buy OZO plant-based meats made out of clean non-GMO ingredients i.e a proprietary blend of pea and rice protein fermented by shitake mushrooms. Other ingredients include canola oil, wheat gluten and sustainably sourced palm oil and the products have zero cholesterol and fewer calories, fat and saturated fat than 80% lean ground beef.

Read: Puris CEO Tyler Lorenzen On Protein, Biodiversity & Health: ‘Peas Are A Great Solution For Sustainability & Environmental Stewardship’

CEO of Planterra Foods, Darcey Macken said that given that the plant-based category is a rapid-changing one, the company wanted to align themselves with like-minded partners to operate with speed and flexibility. “This relationship with UNFI Canada is an exciting step in Planterra Food’s retail expansion efforts, driving our growing presence in retail and feeding our mission to bring plant-based proteins mainstream by increasing access and encouraging a flexitarian lifestyle,” Maken said in a statement. “UNFI’s focus on the consumer, passion for people and the planet, and value of empowering its partners to win as a team made this the perfect fit to help drive Planterra Food’s international expansion.”

This relationship with UNFI Canada is an exciting step in Planterra Food’s retail expansion efforts, driving our growing presence in retail and feeding our mission to bring plant-based proteins mainstream by increasing access and encouraging a flexitarian lifestyle

Darcey Macken, CEO of Planterra Foods

Canadians Eat More Plant-Based

Flexitarians are those individuals that consciously are reducing their meat intake and replacing it with plant-based alternatives.

President of UNFI Canada, Stacey Kravitz said: “We’re thrilled to debut OZO products in Canada this month. With more people introducing plant-based into their everyday diets, we’re pleased to be able to offer these products to our retailers, providing greater choice and delivering new innovative offerings to store shelves.”

Apart from Canada, Planterra Foods through the foodservice channel has expanded its international presence in the Baja and Yucatán peninsulas of Mexico with a retail launch scheduled in July.

At the moment, OZO’s products are available in retailers across Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, and other Caribbean islands.   

According to a report, despite the number of vegans and vegetarians increasing, 42% of global flexitarians are driving the plant-based growth and over two-fifths of global consumers are actively limiting their meat consumption. Another study highlighted that over half of Americans between the years of 24-29 identify as flexitarians with 43% calling it a ‘permanent lifestyle change’.

Lead image courtesy of OZO.