Blue Tribe, a homegrown plant-based meat startup, has enlisted celebrity power couple Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma as investors as well as brand ambassadors. The details of the investment were not disclosed by the corporation.
Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma both claim to have followed a meat-free diet for a long time. “The collaboration with Blue Tribe is a step to tell people how they can be more conscious and leave less impact on the planet by switching to a plant-based diet,” the Bollywood actress said in a statement.
Anushka and I are thrilled to join the #PlanetFriendlyTribe 🌍☘️
We all have the power to protect our planet. And @bluetribefoods‘s palate-friendly, planet-friendly alternatives are a great way to relish the experience of eating meat,without leaving an impact on the planet 💙 #ad pic.twitter.com/h8UGJTKjpf— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) February 8, 2022
Blue Tribe is a meat-alternative brand founded in 2017 by Nikki Arora Singh and Sandeep Singh that offers plant-based meat products which include frozen minced chicken, keema, chicken nuggets, momos, and sausages that taste, feel, look, and cook like meat but are plant-based. The startup’s products are made primarily of grains, peas, lentils, soybeans, among other vegetarian ingredients that are rich in proteins, vitamins, and other nutrients.
Blue Tribe has also partnered with the Good Food Institute’s (GFI) India branch, a non-profit organization that seeks to promote plant-based alternatives to meat, dairy, and eggs. In reality, Blue Tribe and its competitors are competing for this product category. Due to the scarcity of proteins in vegetarian meals, such households include an element of animal protein, including eggs, meats, or milk, even if guiltily. Plant-based meat products overcome the demand-supply gap by allowing people to enjoy food without feeling guilty.
Commenting on the development, Sandeep Singh, co-founder of Blue Tribe, “Our products aim at non-vegetarian eaters who want to switch to healthier, environment-friendly products without compromising the taste of their favorite dishes. Our food experts and scientists have been successful in identifying what gives meat its unique taste and texture, and so our products will taste, look, feel and cook exactly like meat.”
Furthermore, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) predicted that livestock is responsible for more than 18 percent of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, second only to fossil-fuel combustion. Thus, the target market for plant-based or faux meat alternatives in India is vegetarians, flexitarians (those eating mostly vegetarian foods with occasional non-vegetarian frivolities), young consumers, guilty meat-eaters, ethical as well as health-conscious consumers who are opposed to animal cruelty (i.e. killing animals for meat), want to minimize the greenhouse effect, and choose for lower fat, but equal protein-rich diet.
Today, more than a dozen startups in India are offering plant-based alternatives which include vegan chicken, veggie burgers and kebabs, ham, and so on. Blue Tribe competes with Burger Buddy, Good Dot, Evo Foods, Wakao Foods, Vegan Meri Jaan, Oh Veg, the Vegetarian Butcher among many others. ITC, an FMCG company, has recently joined the plant-based meat industry, offering faux meats along with ready-to-eat ‘plant-based meat’ on the menus of famous restaurant chains like Domino’s Pizza and Haldiram’s.
See how people are reacting to this:
@JohnOberg @ImpossibleFoods @gardein @BeyondMeat amazing to see and welcome @bluetribefoods into the team of companies and people that I know promoting a more friendly sustainable future without harming animals.
— yvedas (@yvedas) February 8, 2022
Nice. No animal products
This could save lots carbon footprints— VK (@vijaysomaraju) February 8, 2022