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San Francisco-based vegetarian food brand Hooray Foods is expanding its products to Canada. The brand’s innovative bacon flavour bars are similar in appearance, cooking and taste to animal-derived bacon and are being launched in 180 stores of Canadian grocery chains Sobeys, Safeway and Thrifty Foods in Ontario and British Columbia.

Sri Artham, the founder of Hooray Foods, who was born in Canada, founded this start-up company to develop plant-based pork products, starting with surrealistic bacon, as a way to solve the environmental damage of the pork industry. There are currently 75 million pigs living on farms in the United States. It is the second largest agricultural source of greenhouse gases in the United States after cattle breeding. 

Previously, Artham created a technology start-up company to help farm workers and promote ethical food in Fair Trade USA. Hooray Foods originated in Artham's family kitchen, where he tinkered with ingredients to make vegan bacon. After receiving positive feedback from an experienced chef, he launched Hooray Foods at several restaurants in the Bay Area.

In October 2020, Hooray Foods made its debut in 300 Whole Foods Market retail stores nationwide. Since the product was officially launched last year, the company has sold more than 1.3 million sticks of vegan bacon in the United States. 

"Since its launch a year ago, we have experienced rapid growth in the United States. People who love Bacon, love long live," Altham said in a statement. "As a Canadian, I am very happy to be able to'bring bacon home' and provide Canadian shoppers with unique and delicious meat substitutes. Sobeys Inc. is the perfect partner in this regard, because they have been providing customers Provides the forefront of innovative plant-based options."

Hooray Foods distinguishes its bacon flavor bars from other meatless bacon alternatives by encapsulating fat. This allows to replicate the unique taste and texture of bacon and increase the experience of nostalgia and cooking it, similar to its animal-derived similar products, but no animal suffers from it. 

The flavor profile is a mixture of umami, salty and smoky flavors with a hint of sweetness. This is achieved through ingredients such as coconut oil, rice flour, tapioca starch, smoke liquid, umami seasonings (shiitake mushrooms, salt, mushroom extract, calcium carbonate), maple syrup, salt and beet juice concentrate.

With the vigorous development of the meat substitute industry, Hooray Foods entered the Canadian market. According to a recent report by Ernst & Young, commissioned by the Canadian Protein Industry Corporation, by 2035, the global meat substitute market is expected to increase to 10.7-180 billion Canadian dollars.

"At Sobeys Inc., we are keen to provide our customers with a pleasant shopping experience by continuously launching new and innovative products, such as Hooray Foods Bacon Bars," Robeys Plant, Seafood, Deli Sales Director Rob Mikulec HMR, said in a statement. "We are proud to be the first retailer to bring this product to the Canadian table and look forward to seeing our customers add it to their breakfasts, side dishes and holiday appetizers in a unique and delicious way ."

For more information about vegan bacon, please read: Gordon Ramsay posted a crispy vegan bacon recipe on TikTok 9 types of vegetarian bacon brands for breakfast, lunch and dinner Impossible Foods On the right track" to make plant-based bacon

Nicole Axworthy is the news editor of VegNews and the author of the cookbook DIY Vegan. 

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