Kroger Expands Plant-Based Line, Adding 75 Vegan Products by January

Remember when grocery shopping as a vegan meant scouring the dairy aisle for a jug of soy milk or the freezer department for a veggie burger tucked in among the rows and rows of sausage patties? No more.

And if you’re shopping at Kroger, long gone are those frustrating days for the plant-forward shopper. Last week, Kroger announced that its Simple Truth brand—which launched last September with around 20 products—will expand to include a total of more than 75 affordably-priced, plant-based foods and drinks by the end of this year. So far, the brand has debuted more than 50 new choices for customers, including non-dairy cheeses, oat milk ice cream (sign us up!), and the new Emerge Chick’n line with chicken-free patties and ground “chick’n” for all your dinnerly needs. Considering how many more people are increasingly shopping for more plant-based foods to load into their physical or digital carts amid the global pandemic, the move couldn’t have come at a better time.

"We're excited to introduce the latest additions to our Simple Truth Plant Based collection to provide an expanded selection of affordable, delicious and quality products for our customers who live a vegan, vegetarian or flexitarian lifestyle," said Stuart Aitken, Kroger's chief merchant in the company press release. "We look forward to continuing to drive the growth of the plant-based category through our Simple Truth brand, which exceeded $2.5 billion in sales last year, and we anticipate increased interest in our plant-based selection in 2021 and beyond."

Some of the new releases we’re particularly excited for besides that oat milk ice cream in Strawberry Graham, Sea Salt Caramel, Peanut Butter Chip, Black Raspberry Chip, and Maple Pecan flavors? Cheese Slices (Cheddar and Hot Pepper), Almond Milk Yogurts (Vanilla, Strawberry, Blueberry, and Mango), Cauliflower Dips (Buffalo, Spicy Queso, Tzatziki, and Cilantro with Jalapeño), Caesar and Ranch Salad Dressings, and Ready-to-Eat Chocolate Chip Cookies. You can read the full press release here.

Clearly, that sad, sole jug of soy milk will be but a sad fable to tell our kids one day. Happy eating!