Strong Roots: Irish startup bringing fantastic frozen food disruption to U.S.
By Bonnie
Strong Roots is upsetting the market, but making consumers very content. The Irish startup is bringing its goodies to the US and this is really delicious news!
Strong Roots is for everyone. It’s very frequent that you see something like riced cauliflower and you think “oh, that’s vegetarian food.” And you’re right, it is. I don’t know about you, but when I got dinner as a child, cauliflower was one of the things I sometimes ate. Was my mother a vegetarian then? No.
The same is true of other foods we think of as sides or add-ons, such as carrots, mushrooms, and if you’re big on that stuff, beetroot and kale. These things crossed some of our tables on the regular and it wasn’t a vegetarian thing. I mean, if you like mushroom on your burger, maybe you’d like mushroom as your burger. Just saying.
Now that flexitarianism is a thing and vegans are trendy, we are seeing more and more of these creative ideas hitting the shelves and restaurant menus. As a vegetarian, this has me freaking out with excitement because no one I know is super excited about their new way to make tofu more acceptable. (I have had some good stuff, though).
The good news is, you don’t have to be a vegetarian to like this stuff, and adding it in won’t make you one. Will my non-vegetarian kids eat delicious vegan ice cream by choice? Yes. Will they also eat bacon with their bacon? Yes.
Last year, the Nielsen consumer data report from the Plant Based Foods Association stated that sales of goodies like these were up 20% from the year before. I mean, if you’re not going to eat it, at least get some stock though, right?
The point is, trend or not, it’s here and it’s real. Whole foods, non-GMO, no trans fats, you’ve seen it all before. If you’re someone who’s interested in minding these details, you are going to be really into this news.
Strong Roots, a startup from Dublin, Ireland, is bringing their innovative veggie yums to the US next month. They’re in their fourth calendar year and founder, Samuel Dennigan is in his early 30s, so when it comes to what’s fresh, he has it covered in food and target market. He’s spent most of his life in the veggie industry and had a cool idea that has absolutely skyrocketed.
Because I am a vegetarian, I often find myself shoveling through shelves looking for new stuff to buy. I’m not always about making some amazing pinterest creation, and I don’t want sprouts on my everything. And “original recipe vegetable soup” tends to have *with beef* in tiny print on the can. I’m ready for a treat, buddies. I’m certainly going to do the thing- I can taste it already!
Dennigan calls Strong Roots “a purpose driven company.” He believes in the company’s products, it’s freshness factor, packaging, and the fact that it’s responsible in general. But that’s easier to accomplish than the way he has put it all together. For me, it’s going to be the cauliflower hashbrown that will get me to the store fast. I’m even planning to melt cheese half of it. Don’t judge.
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Why half? Because it sounds like the thing is going to be incredible all by its fabulous self. If that wasn’t the case, it would have been a lot more of a challenge for Strong Roots to have its products on the shelves of over 4,000 supermarkets already. The goodies have been available in Ireland, The UK, Iceland, and Singapore at stores like Whole Foods, for some time already.
As a finalist, the company will be showing up in the US and hoping to claim a NEXTY Award at the Natural Products Expo West. This will be just another on the list of awards they already have in categories from taste to business growth. So they are no one to be truffled with! Oh, I mean trifled.
Whether you’re a vegan and you’re looking for that verified goodness, or you’re a straight-up carnivore who likes to dabble in veggies on the side, Strong Roots will have something you might consider. They are starting with the top eight sellers on their product list and will likely be just as successful here as they have been abroad.
These foods are gluten-free and will turnip- I mean turn up- in the frozen food aisles of natural food stores, specialty shops, and major grocery chains in the months to come. So if this sounds like your thing, keep your eyes open and give them a shot. Do it for your taste buds and for the world!
What’s your favorite vegetable dish? Are you going to give Strong Roots a try? Keep the chat going in the comments below, or send us a tweet!
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