Zoglo’s Incredible Food Corp (CSE:ZOG) is a specialist in the manufacture of meat alternatives. Like Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND), it is quickly carving itself a piece of the lucrative global market for non-meat food alternatives.
The company is expanding its reach through a series of distribution deals and just closed its latest in Canada. This is with the Calgary Co-operative Association in Alberta.
Calgary Co-op will be taking the entirety of Zoglo’s proprietary Incredible line which includes consumer favourites like its chicken strips, meatballs and burgers. These will be made available in all 22 of the Calgary Co-op stores within the city’s metropolitan area.
Calgary Co-op is one of the largest retail co-operatives in North America and has over 440,000 members. They ranked at number eight in sales among all Canadian grocery retailers, with annual sales of over C$1 billion in 2019/20 FY.
Calgary Co-op is a leader in sustainability
We thought it was also interesting that Calgary Co-op is a leader in sustainability – it diverts 87% of its total annual waste, which is equivalent to 19,500 yards of cubic landfill space, or more than 11,000 barrels of oil. We think this is important because demand for meat alternatives is being fuelled not just by vegetarians, but also by shoppers who are concerned about the climate impact of meat farming, and especially beef farming.
More and more people are switching over to a plant-based diet, a trend that is going to benefit manufacturers of plant-based alternatives. There are also considerable numbers who are eating plant-based meals at least once a week, if not more. This is creating a fast-growing market (11.9% CAGR) with an estimated size of $74.2bn projected for 2027, according to data from Research & Markets.
Here at The Armchair Trader we think that might be a conservative estimate, especially as more meat consumers become worried about the ecological impact of meat farming, and yes, over-fishing.
Not just chicken or beef alternatives
Zoglo’s is not just selling beef or chicken alternatives, but also have fish substitutes as well, including its famous salmon ring. These are created using its proprietary food technology, and we understand that it has a considerable pipeline of new products under development.
“We are very excited to work with a planet-oriented company like Calgary Co-op and bring Zoglo’s innovative and delectable plant-based products to customers across Alberta,” said Zoglo’s CEO, Anthony Morello. “This rollout will facilitate consumer adoption by further strengthening our brand awareness and availability across Canada while doing our part in reducing emissions.”
Zoglo’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Zoglo’s Incredible Food Inc., currently offers 14 products through its Traditional Green Box product line and aims to offer 12 innovative products for the mainstream market through its new Zoglo’s Incredible Black Box product line. Over the past 25 years, Zoglo’s products have been in distribution in over 700 retail stores across Canada including Walmart, Shoppers Drug Mart, Sobeys and Loblaws, and has representation in the United States and Europe.
As Zoglo’s COO Jim Delsnyder told The Armchair Trader earlier this year, “The intention is to lead this industry in innovation – we want to increase the range of plant-based items for consumers, so that they are available at five or six touch points in a typical grocery store. This includes having a plant-based meat alternative for ready-made meals, where there are few alternatives, especially in North America.”
