Plant-based brand Better Nature Tempeh has scaled up its Tesco and Asda distribution to land itself the spot as the UK’s fastest-growing wholefood protein brand.
The tempeh brand is now available in over 700 Tesco stores and 300 Asda stores as well as almost 1,000 Lidl stores, Planet Organic, Whole Foods Market, and in independent retailers.
Despite facing recent challenges from the meat-alternative category’s waning demand, Better Nature Tempeh chief executive and co-founder Christopher Kong hailed its 250% year-on-year rise and said that the country was “on the verge of a tempeh revolution”.
Kong said: “This time last year, Better Nature Tempeh wasn’t available in any major UK retailer. Fast-forward 12 months and we’re now stocked nationwide in Tesco, Asda, and Lidl, and are about to launch with another major retailer.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
“Despite the consolidation and shrinkage of the meat-free category, tempeh is coming out on top, growing 30% year-on-year. As a brand, we’re responsible for more than half (51%) of that growth, with two of the top three tempeh SKUs in the UK (by volume) being Better Nature Tempeh.”
He added: “What we’re seeing in meat-free is a natural bifurcation of the category, with wholefood proteins such as tempeh on one side, and meat alternatives on the other.
“Increased retail distribution gives us a brilliant platform to raise awareness of tempeh as a supercharged protein…On this growth trajectory, we’re on our way to making tempeh the UK’s (and eventually the world’s) go-to protein staple and accelerating the wider transition to wholefood proteins.”
