Papa Murphy’s Pizza Launches New Vegan Pepperoni Topping from Hormel

You probably don't associate SPAM with being very vegan-friendly, but that may just be about to change: The owners of SPAM, Hormel, have launched a new plant-based brand, Happy Little Plants, to cater towards plant-based options. Happy Little Plant’s latest product is a vegan pepperoni that you can try atop pizzas at Papa Murphy’s, a national pizza chain.

The plant-based pepperoni topping is made with the same spice blend used in their meat products, a mixture of garlic, paprika, and red and black pepper, a taste-profile that promises “a genuine pie appeal.” The pepperoni topping uses a soy base, the same base used in Happy Little Plant’s ground “beef” product.

Hormel designed the Happy Little Plants product line with vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores in mind. “The new Happy Little Plants brand pepperoni style topping was developed with foodservice operators to ensure pizzeria-level taste, convenience, and quality, so much so, that many people may have a hard time tasting the difference between Happy Little Plants brand pepperoni style topping and traditional pepperoni,” said Anthony Panichelli, the pizza toppings brand manager at Hormel Foods. “Our team worked closely with pizzerias, chefs, foodservice operators, and pizza experts to develop a plant-based pepperoni style topping that cooks and tastes exactly like traditional pepperoni.”

Hormel is the latest brand to get into the vegan pizza game, joining brands like Nestle and Uno. If you're lucky enough to live near a Papa Murphy’s location, you could try a slice topped with Happy Plant’s new vegan pepperoni delivered right to your door. Who knows? Maybe Hormel will make a vegan SPAM next!