The Better Meat Co. has entered into an exclusive partnership with Hormel Foods Corporation (known globally for SPAM) to develop new meat alternatives, using the start-up’s mycoprotein ingredient called Rhiza.

With this deal, Hormel Foods is aiming to expand its portfolio of alternative proteins that includes nut-based products for consumers and plant-based pizza toppings for the foodservice industry.

The Better Meat Co. is a B2B ingredients provider founded in 2018 and headquartered in Sacramento, California. Rhiza is produced via a fermentation process fed with potato starch. According to the company, their mycoprotein has a “remarkable meat-like texture and contains more protein than eggs and more iron than beef.” The fermentation plant to produce Rhiza was completed just a few weeks ago (read our coverage here).

"We're proud to partner with Hormel Foods to unleash the power of fermentation to build an even more sustainable food supply," said Doni Curkendall, executive vice president of operations at The Better Meat Co. "Hormel Foods has a deep bench of expertise in both animal and plant proteins, and we look forward to working together to bring our delicious mycoprotein to the world."

Other than Rhiza, The Better Meat Co. has a line of clean label, allergen-free meat enhancers that food manufactures can use to create hybrid formulations with animal proteins, to improve yield and reduce costs.

The Better Meat Co. is also a provider of Perdue, the third-largest American producer of broilers, for its line of hybrid products that contain 50% chicken and 50% mycoprotein.

During a presentation at Rabobank’s Foodbytes in 2019, The Better Meat Co.’s CEO Paul Shapiro made clear that their ingredients are not fillers, they actually enhance the taste and texture of meat products with fewer calories and cholesterol.

“Consumers overwhelmingly are favourable to this idea of boosting meat with plant proteins because they think they’re getting a value add, which indeed they are,” he said. “We love that plant-based protein is located in the meat section in groceries, and we want to go one step further and put it directly into the meat itself.”

If you want to learn more about The Better Meat Co.'s products, visit their website bettermeat.co or click on the button below to get in touch with them directly.