Vegan News of the Week: Summer Lovin’, Kevin Hart’s Parmesan Shaker, and More

It seems like every week in the world of vegan food news is more exciting than the last and this week is no exception. If you miss the feeling of shaking Parm all over your pasta, Good Planet Foods has a new dairy-free solution. New England Stop & Shops will offer a vegan breakfast option with the launch of MingsBings Handle Pouches filled with Just Egg. And Kevin Hart is celebrating summer with a new menu at his vegan chain Hart House, which just opened its first drive-thru in Hollywood. Read on to find out more.

1Vegan cheese shakes

Kraft has cornered the stable parmesan market so far: enter Good Planet Foods’ newest product, a vegan parmesan shaker that’s perfect for whenever a little sprinkle of cheese is in order.

“Our customers have told us they want a vegan option of grated parmesan cheese to top their pastas, salads and snacks like popcorn,” Good Planet Foods co-CEO Bart Adlam told VegNews. “We also saw that there was no shelf-stable option available, so we created one. (It’s) really versatile and easy to add flavor to any recipe.

Good Foods from the Planet

Good Planet Foods’ innovative vegan parmesan cheese shaker is now available for $3.99 per container at Publix stores.

And if you’re looking for a more melty vegan cheese, Violife Professional unveiled Just Like American Slices Easy Melt at this week’s National Restaurant Association trade show. This means foodservice providers can now offer more gooey vegan cheese on burgers, sandwiches, wraps, and more.

2A better sausage, egg and cheese

Vegan company MingsBings was founded in 2020 by James Beard and Emmy-winning chef Ming Tsai, who also serves as Iron Chef in the latest installment of the Food Network series. The company offers dips and “bings” – or purses filled with savory fillings.

The company recently launched a line extension of Breakfast Bings that includes all Just Egg in four varieties: sausage, egg and cheese; Egg and Cheese; Chorizo, Egg and Cheese; and vegetables, eggs and cheese.

MingsBings

This month, the MingsBings breakfast line is heading to The Giant Company, Giant Foods and Stop & Shop, expanding MingsBings’ retail footprint by more than 550 stores in the East and Central regions of Atlantic. It’s also the first time a breakfast option will be available at these New England stores.

“MingsBings are an example of true innovation in Handheld Frozen and we are excited to bring them to Stop & Shop customers,” said Joel Brissenden, Vice President, Category Management at Stop & Shop, in a statement.

At The Giant Company and Giant Foods, MingsBings will be offered in another new flavor: Cheesesteak Bing, made with vegetable protein, vegan mozzarella and onions.

Tsai developed the vegan bings when his wife Polly switched to a plant-based diet after being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. So a portion of MingsBings sales are donated to Family Reach cancer charities. and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

3Wicked Kitchen Acquires Second Vegan Seafood Company

Derek and Chad Sarno are the chef brothers behind Wicked Kitchen, which is already a major vegan food company in the United States and its birthplace, the United Kingdom, with a wide variety of products ranging from ice cream to entrees cooked through sauces and more. And the company is growing with new acquisitions, including Good Catch Foods, a vegan seafood company developed by Chad Sarno.

Current foods

This week, Wicked Kitchen landed its second plant-based seafood acquisition with Current Foods, a San Francisco-based company known for its perfect fish for sashimi. Launched in 2019, the company creates next-level vegan tuna and salmon from plant-based ingredients such as pea protein, bamboo fiber and potato starch as ethical and sustainable alternatives to seafood traditional.

“Current Foods is a perfect fit for Wicked as a global impact brand with the same mission and complementary products,” Wicked Kitchen CEO Pete Speranza said in a statement.

“With this agreement and the acquisition of Good Catch, we are in a unique position as consumers continually learn the realities of environmental impact on marine life,” Speranza said.

Last year, Wicked signed a deal with event organizer ASM Global to become its exclusive plant-based food supplier, meaning its products could appear on the menus of 350 major arenas. This follows its partnership with NBA and WNBA teams, Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, which has resulted in a new vegan concession stand at their arena, the Target Center in Minneapolis.

Current foods

The acquisition of Current Foods will allow Wicked to expand its foodservice offering to include sashimi-grade vegan fish, a game-changer for the type of food available at large events.

“Wicked continues its mission to disrupt the food space with plant-based culinary solutions for consumers,” Chad Sarno said in a statement. “This synergistic opportunity to bring Current into the family only amplifies the impact we can have as we continue to move forward to improve the health of the oceans and all that inhabit it.”

4Scharffen Berger launches oat milk chocolate

We can never have enough chocolate options, especially when they come in creamy oat milk varieties. This week, artisan chocolate maker Scharffen Berger got into the game with a new line of vegan oat milk chocolate bark ‘breaks’.

“It’s been a whirlwind year, with so many innovations and exciting new opportunities to modernize this great and respected chocolate brand,” JP Mackey, president and chief sales officer of Scharffen Berger, said in a statement.

“We’ve invested heavily in getting new products in the right package sizes with trending ingredients, like plant-based oat milk, coconut and maple sugars, and inclusions, operational,” Mackey said.

The company starts with a 43% oat milk chocolate, adds coconut sugar and a variety of mixes to create vegan snackable treats in four flavors: Salted Almond, Coconut & Quinoa, Salted Sunflower Seeds and gluten-free pretzel.

Sharpen Shepherd

“Breaks is a perfect example of how we’ve reimagined this brand and where it can bring value to our retail customers while catering to end-consumer tastes,” Mackey said.

We pack these four vegan oat milk barks for all of our summer camping trips.

5Loving Summer at Hart House

Kevin Hart is big into vegan fast food. When he first announced the opening of his Hart House concept last year, the comedian was dead serious about making the vegan chain as ubiquitous as McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King.

Hart House

In fact, the man who put the Impossible Whopper on Burger King’s menu, chef Mike Salem, is working with Hart to ensure his vegan food becomes a sensation, too.

Hart House’s menu focuses on single or double burgers, chicken sandwiches, a selection of sides and milkshakes.

Starting this week, Hart House is celebrating the season with a special “Summer Lovin’” menu that includes three new items: Smokey BBQ Burg’r, Hart House Lemonade and Nashville Nuggets.

Jacob Layman

The new summer love menu is available at Hart House’s three Los Angeles-area locations, including its recently opened drive-thru on Sunset Boulevard.

“Since Hart House’s inception, it has always been about creating a new option in fast food, which is why I’m so excited to bring Hart House to Hollywood,” Hart said in a statement.

“At Hart House we strive to make people feel good and I’m so proud of how quickly we’re growing and I can’t wait for there to be Hart House restaurants all over the country,” Hart said.

True to his word, Hart is continuing to expand the vegan fast-food chain to a fourth location near the USC campus this summer.