Plant-based meat company Tindle Foods expands into more than 500 Kroger stores – including banners Fred Meyer, Ralph’s and Smith’s – defying broader category headwinds with differentiated products, strong liquidity and a consumer-informed retail strategy.
While plant-based meat faced declining sales and volumes in recent years due to taste and texture challenges and growing concerns around processed foods, Tindle Foods has maintained momentum, according to Tindle Foods (formerly Next Gen Foods) CEO and Co-founder Timo Recker.
Since the company’s beginning in 2020, Tindle Foods has scaled its retail distribution from 150 to more than 1,300 stores nationwide. This is attributed to Tindle Foods’ financing deals in 2020-2021 “when the markets were up” and it raised its largest funding round of $100 million, explained Recker.
“We still have more than half of the money in our bank account, so we are in a very strong position with good liquidity‚” he added. With strong liquidity, Tindle Foods offers retailers a longer runway – ensuring consistent supply, supporting nationwide growth and resilience against market fluctuations.
Tindle’s introduction to consumers began in foodservice where the company collected key insights about its customers early on before entering retail a year ago, Recker explained.
“A year ago, we were at 150 stores, mostly in the Midwest and Northeast regions, where really could learn more about what the buyers and the consumers are looking for, and obviously they look for differentiated products for their freezer,” he said.
Stuffed chicken line meets consumer demand for convenience, gourmet and healthy
Tindle Foods’ flagship product is its boneless wings, but its biggest differentiator on shelves is its stuffed chicken line, which includes Tikka Masala and Parmigiana stuffed chicken, Recker said.
“R&D is a core pillar of our business, and it is even more important than ever before because we need innovative products, differentiating products to really make the category grow more. So, we focus on differentiating the ingredient base,” to align with consumer demand for convenient, gourmet and natural products, Recker explained.
Tindle’s ingredient deck includes a combination of wheat flour, gluten and starch and soy protein and coconut oil, among others. The company’s patented TrueCut technology for its plant-based chicken creates a whole cut meat experience that emphasizes taste and texture.
Tariffs: ‘We are flexible’
As the food and beverage industry navigates the uncertainty of tariffs’ impact on the supply chain, Tindle will continue to “keep our pricing stable” for as long as possible, Recker said.
“We are always looking to improve our supply chain, diversify our sources” and determine where to co-manufacture “in Europe or in the US,” he said. The company develops its products at its R&D facilities in Chicago, the Netherlands and Singapore, and manufactures in the Pacific Northwest and Singapore.
Recker added: “In a nutshell, we are flexible. We are used to dealing with a lot of uncertainties, we are in a position to keep our prices stable and hopefully use this to our advantage.”
