CHICAGO — Next Gen Foods, makers of TiNDLE, continues rapid expansion by bolstering its in-house expertise and growing its product portfolio for foodservice partners to meet increasing consumer and customer demand.
First launched in 2021, TiNDLE is a leading global plant-based chicken brand that broke industry records for the largest Series A funding of any plant-based company to date. TiNDLE’s restaurant footprint continues to grow and is currently on menus in more than 1,500 locations globally including the United Kingdom, Germany and Singapore – and in the United States via more than 100 national distributors.
Created with chefs, for chefs, TiNDLE is a truly versatile product that allows for endless dish possibilities across cuisines, menus and operations. At launch, TiNDLE introduced its flagship product for restaurant applications – a raw format of TiNDLE that could be molded and easily modifiable for any chef creation. Now, TiNDLE has developed a wider breadth of convenient pre-breaded patties and nuggets for foodservice operations through an open innovation process of collecting feedback from hundreds of chefs and consumers worldwide. In less than two years since its initial debut, the TiNDLE R&D team has leveraged their product development expertise to design the shapes for patties, nuggets, and now tenders, using 3D scanning and printing technology.
Created for maximum convenience – while still delivering on the same craveable flavor and experience as before – the new pre-breaded product range now includes TiNDLE tenders. The tenders can be ready to serve as main and side dishes in less than five minutes, and are simple to use for operators. The tenders can go from freezer to fryer, and are coated with a special crispy batter, which seals in the juicy texture and gives a satisfying crunch with every bite. Operators looking to add TiNDLE tenders to their menu can order through DOT Foods or reach out to their local distributor.
The company’s product expansion comes in tandem with TiNDLE’s recent decision to create a new in-house arm for foodservice business development led by industry veteran, Jared Umsted. Prior to joining TiNDLE as SVP of Foodservice, Umsted served in similar roles at Daring, Impossible Foods and Ronnoco Coffee, and most recently Umsted was the Senior Vice President of Sales at Elohi Strategic Advisors. During his time at Elohi, Umsted managed the relationship with TiNDLE and had a direct part in their continued success in the foodservice market.
“The quality, versatility and scalability of the offerings is unprecedented in the plant-based industry and one of the reasons that drove me to joining TiNDLE in-house,” said Jared Umsted, SVP of Foodservice at TiNDLE. “The adoption of new and cutting-edge technology at Next Gen – while simultaneously adapting to the growing and shifting demands from consumers – sets us up well for competing at a global scale in the plant-based industry.”
The new in-house role will oversee TiNDLE’s US foodservice sales, strategic partnerships and the management of ongoing and prospective distributor and trade relationships.
“Jared’s deep bench of expertise in the plant-based industry will allow us to tackle new areas of expansion in foodservice and will further guide our plans as we consider launching in retail – we couldn’t be more excited to have Jared lead our new in-house team,” said Andre Menezes, Co-founder and CEO of Next Gen Foods. “We are committed to growing our range of product offerings across the TiNDLE brand while meeting consumer needs as we move away from reliance on animal agriculture in the food system.”
Operators or restaurants looking for more information on TiNDLE products can contact usapartners@tindle.com or visit www.tindle.com.
About c
TiNDLE is a juicy, plant-based chicken that offers mouthwatering taste, texture, and versatility – and uses a fraction of the land, water and energy needed to produce meat from birds. Made with only nine simple ingredients, TiNDLE is the first product by Next Gen Foods, a Singapore-founded food tech company that is developing and commercializing innovative and sustainable foods. Available in restaurants globally, TiNDLE is the first chicken made from plants designed by chefs and for chefs and is a winner of the National Restaurant Association’s 2022 Food and Beverage Innovation (FABI) Awards. For more information, visit tindle.com or follow @tindlefoods on Instagram and @tindle.foods on TikTok.
About Next Gen Foods
Founded in 2020, Next Gen Foods is a food-tech startup developing and commercializing innovative and sustainable plant-based food products — including its flagship product, TiNDLE. Next Gen Foods is backed by a team with proven experience in plant-based food technology, global brand development, and global distribution scaleup. For more information, visit nextgenfoods.sg.
