LOS ANGELES — Mrs. Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli, maker of the only premium 100% plant-based deli meats on the market and the nation’s fastest-growing vegan lunch meat brand, has announced that its products will now be sold at Sprouts Farmers Market locations nationwide. This brings the number of grocers carrying their healthier and more ecologically-sustainable alternative to traditional sandwich meats to over 3600 locations.
Founder & CEO Jenny Goldfarb is well known for securing a major investment from billionaire Mark Cuban on a November 2019 Shark Tank episode in which Cuban offered her more than double what she was asking for – almost unheard of on the show! “As a self-declared deli expert,” Cuban exclaims, “I have officially placed my allegiance with Unreal Deli!” Since then, other notable investors including Aileen Getty of the Getty Family, have joined to support Unreal Deli’s expansion into a US-based deli meat market valued at more than $40 billion annually. Listed as one of the 45 fastest-growing brands on Instacart in 2022, Unreal Deli currently sells plant-based versions of Corn’d Beef, Roasted Turk’y, and Steak Slices, and plans to release additional products in 2023.
Goldfarb, who launched her company from her home kitchen, shared that the original intention of these recipes was simply to create for her growing family a more humane and healthier version of the traditional sandwich meats she grew up with. Only after the urging of carnivorous family members who enthusiastically embraced her products did she realize she might be able to turn her new creation into a business.
“A few years ago, I saw videos showing the very disturbing reality of factory farming. The living conditions, the abuse, the loss of life and humanity – it broke my heart into a million pieces. This isn’t the world I wanted to leave my children and it got me thinking about where our food comes from. I want my family to enjoy food free of cholesterol, antibiotics, hormones, and harmful chemical additives… food that’s made from real, whole veggies and is sustainable and healthier. Better for us and better for the planet! And I knew I could figure out how to make it delicious.”
According to the 2021 report by The Good Food Institute, the sale of plant-based foods in the US has grown 54% over the last three years and the overall market segment is now valued at $7.4 billion. That report went on to confirm that the majority of the customers for these products are neither vegan nor vegetarian and that, in fact, 98% of the consumers purchasing plant-based meat alternatives also regularly purchase meat and dairy products. A separate study commissioned by Sprouts Farmers Market and conducted by One Poll concluded that nearly one in two Americans now consume more plant-based meals than meat and that 47% of consumers describe themselves as “flexitarians”. That same report indicated that the number is even higher (54%) among respondents aged 29 to 34, confirming what many industry professionals see as a growing mega-trend.
In addition to Sprouts, Unreal Deli products are currently sold at Whole Foods, Publix, Ralphs, Giant Food, ShopRite, and other chains along with hundreds of independent natural grocers throughout the US. According to Goldfarb, her premium plant-based deli meats will be launching into several thousand more chain locations this year, and 500 universities that are looking to add plant-based options to their menus.
Backed by over 100 years of NY deli tradition – Goldfarb’s great-grandfather immigrated to NYC in 1907 working his way up from dishwasher to owning several NY delis – she didn’t want to give up on the taste and texture of the foods she enjoyed so much:
“If you can eat a delicious corned beef sandwich that’s actually healthier for you, kinder to our animal friends, and better for the planet, then why not? Unreal Deli is demonstrating revolutionary new ways of thinking about the foods that we all love. We’re here to show the world that you can still enjoy all the nostalgic flavors you crave without any of the compromises – to your health, the health of our planet, or our animal friends. One Unreal bite at a time.”
