Gardein

Gardein (a portmanteau of garden and protein) is a product line of meat-free foods made by Conagra Brands in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada and Hagerstown, Maryland, United States. In November 2014, Pinnacle Foods purchased Gardein for $154 million.[1][2] Founder and chief executive Yves Potvin stayed on with the company, and has stated that the buy-out assisted Gardein to access more capital and expand manufacturing facilities to Hagerstown, MD.[3][4] On 10/26/2018, Conagra acquired Pinnacle Foods[5]

Gardein Crispy Tenders (pictured at a restaurant in 2010) [6]
Gardein pocket meals in 2015.

Gardein
Founded2003
FounderYves Potvin
Headquarters
Richmond, British Columbia
,
Canada
ProductsAnimal meat-free foods
OwnerGarden Protein International
Conagra Brands
Pinnacle Foods
WebsiteGardein official website

All Gardein products are vegan, and they are certified by Vegan Action. Most of Gardein's products are certified Kosher pareve by Kosher Check (The Orthodox Rabbinical Council of BC).[7] In 2014, they added gluten-free beefless products to their range in response to the expanding gluten allergy market.[8]

Gardein's new process creates meat-like fibers from vegetables.[9] Ingredients include proprietary formulations of proteins (slow-cooked soy, wheat and pea), organic flours (kamut, amaranth, millet, quinoa), potato starch, modified vegetable gum, organic beet fibers, and carrot fibers.[10]

History

Garden Protein International was established by former chef Yves Potvin.[11] In 2001, Potvin sold his company, Yves Veggie Gourmet (also known as Yves Fine Food), in order to focus on Gardein products.

Gardein is listed as having been officially established in 2003, and the company launched their frozen products in 2009.[12]

In 2007, Garden Protein had 85 employees and had $50 million in yearly sales.[13] In 2014, they had nearly $100 million in yearly sales at the retail level.[14] The following year, they had more than 250 employees in their manufacturing plant and distributed their products to more than 22,000 stores in North America.[15]

Gardein was first used in the United Kingdom in 2008, as an ingredient in Grassington's frozen meals.[16]

Celebrity endorsements and publicity

In 2009, Gardein products were featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show by chef and Gardein consultant Tal Ronnen.[17] They have also been part of other segments of the show in August 2010 and in February 2011.[18]

In 2013, Gardein partnered with the Los Angeles City Council to celebrate Meatless Monday.[19][20]

Awards

In 2007, Gardein received PETA's Company of the Year Award (also known as a PETA Proggy Award[21]) for their meat substitute products.[13]

Since 2010 Gardein has received four Canadian Grand Prix New Product awards[22] (Frozen or Refrigerated Prepared Food & Entrees, 2013,[23] Fishless Fillet and Crispy Chik'n with Veggies Pocket Meal, 2015[24]), and Gardein also won a New Product award from Veg News Magazine three years in a row (2010, 2011 and 2012).[25] Gardein's Seven Grain Crispy Tenders product won Shape magazine's Best Snack award in 2010, and Gardein then won the Good Food Award by Natural Health Magazine in 2011.[6]

Gardein received several awards in 2014, including PETA's Product of the Year, the Libby Award for PETA's 'Best Seasonal Vegan Food,' the 'Foodie Award' by the Vegetarian Times, and the National Restaurant Association's Food and Beverage Innovations (FABI) Awards for their Fishless Fillets.[26][27][28][29]

Also that year, the brand received the Leadership in Sustainability award at the British Columbia Export Awards,[30] and Mercy for Animals awarded founder Yves Potvin their Innovative Business Award.[31]

Better Homes and Gardens awarded Gardein with Best New Product in the Meatless Alternative category for their Crispy Chick'n Sliders in 2014,[32] and 'Best New Product' in 2015.[33]

In 2015, Gardein's Gluten-Free Beefless Ground was a finalist for Best Meat Replacement in Delicious Living Magazine's third annual Best Bite Awards. In the same year, they received the Progressive Grocer Category Advisor Award (Frozen Meatless Foods category) for their Fishless Fillets.[34]

Restaurant menu inclusion

Although Gardein is primarily sold as a frozen product in grocery stores, its products have been included on restaurant menus as well.

  • Many of the faux meat options available at Veggie Grill restaurants are made from Gardein products.[35]
  • In 2017, hamburger chain Johnny Rockets added the Gardein black bean patty to its menu.[36]
  • In August 2019, New Zealand based burger chain BurgerFuel added the Chick’n patties to its menu.[37]

Controversies and criticisms

In February 2018, Garden Protein International Inc. (Gardein) pleaded guilty in the Provincial Court of British Columbia to a 2016 offence of unlawfully dumping vegetable oil into a ditch on Gardein's property, which leads into the Fraser River. The company was fined $285,000, ordered to improve its Richmond-based plant to prevent future spills, and added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.[38]

See also

References
  1. "Pinnacle Foods acquires maker of Gardein vegan food line for $154M". NJBiz. November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  2. Pinnacle Foods to buy Canadian protein foods maker Garden. Reuters, 14 November 2014
  3. Bednar, Adam. "Pinnacle coming to Hagerstown – Maryland Daily Record". Retrieved 2017-09-09.
  4. Best, Dean (1 May 2015). "just the answer: Gardein founder and CEO Yves Potvin". Just-Food.
  5. "Conagra Brands Completes Acquisition Of Pinnacle Foods | Conagra Brands". www.conagrabrands.com. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  6. "Low-Calorie Snacks|Shape Magazine". Shape.com. 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
  7. "Gardein". gardein.com. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  8. Abdulla, Hannah (14 February 2014). "Meat alternatives firm Gardein adds gluten-free to range". Just-Food.
  9. Strom, Stephanie (2014-04-02). "Fake Meats, Finally, Taste Like Chicken". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  10. Feder, David (1 April 2013). "Flavorful fake-outs: meat analogs used to offer one choice: either you suffered, or the animal did. Today, processors are artisans at creating meat, poultry and seafood substitutes so good they cluck, moo and...whatever it is fish do". Prepared Foods. 182 (4): 37 – via Factiva.
  11. "Yves Potvin on rapid growth". The Globe and Mail. 21 October 2008.
  12. Hudson, Sabrina (28 April 2014). "Fish-free filets angle for sales: Gardein looks to hook more than just vegans with meatless product". Los Angeles Business Journal. 36 (17): 3 – via Factiva.
  13. Anderson, Fiona (27 December 2007). "Meatless meat wins animal rights award; Veggie-based chicken and beef look-alikes are created by Richmond's Garden Protein". p. C4.
  14. Hsu, Tiffany (2014-07-20). "How I Made It: Yves Potvin". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
  15. Miller, Nancy (March 2015). "Where's the beef?". Los Angeles Magazine. 60 (3): 104–108 – via Factiva.
  16. Beckett, Alex; Riley, Lisa (13 September 2008). "New vegetarian launches to capitalise on UN claims". The Grocer. p. 33.
  17. Butler, Grant (7 September 2010). "Chef puts the protein on vegan plates". The Oregonian (MCT).
  18. Shore, Randy (1 February 2011). "Richmond-based firm braces for another wave of Oprah-fuelled growth". Postmedia News.
  19. Gardein. "Los Angeles City Council Commends Gardein for its Support of Meatless Monday". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
  20. "L.A. City Council Salutes Gardein for Its Support of Meatless Monday". Health & Beauty Close-Up. 17 December 2012.
  21. Anderson, Fiona (28 December 2007). "B. C. company wins PETA award for imitation meat; 'Fools even most diehard meat eater'". Montreal Gazette. p. A16.
  22. "Gardein Earns "Three-Peat" with Coveted Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards™". Newswire.ca. 2013-06-18. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
  23. "Grocery Industry Honours Rookies of the Year". Canada NewsWire. 7 June 2013.
  24. "Gardein Honored at Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards for Fifth Consecutive Year". India Retail News. 11 June 2015.
  25. "The 2012 Veggie Awards". Vegnews.com. 2012-12-03. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
  26. "NRA reveals 2014 FABI Award picks". Restaurant Hospitality. 12 March 2014.
  27. "2014 Foodie Awards: Market to Table". Vegetarian Times. 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  28. "Gardein's 'Golden Fishless Filet' Is PETA's 'Product of the Year". PETA. December 17, 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  29. "2014 Libby Awards". peta2. 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  30. "Gardein™ Receives Award for Leadership in Sustainability at the British Columbia Export Awards". Business Wire. November 18, 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  31. "Innovative Business Award". gardein.com. 2014. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  32. "Better Homes and Gardens Highlights Best New Product Awards 2014 Winners". Entertainment Close-Up. 27 January 2014.
  33. "Winner – Gardein Golden Fishless Filets!". Gardein.com. February 2, 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  34. Gardein. "Gardein™ Receives Progressive Grocer's 2015 Category Advisor Award". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
  35. "Restaurant spotlight | veggie grill". Gardein. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  36. "Johnny Rockets Adds Vegan Burger to its Menu". OneGreenPlanet.org. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  37. "BurgerFuel's Latest Special Vegan Burger, Chook Free!". BurgerFuel. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
  38. Canada, Environment and Climate Change. "British Columbia manufacturer of plant-based foods fined for Fisheries Act violation - Canada.ca". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
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