Check Out These Dairy-Free Dips at Target and Costco From a Vegan Icon

Pinky Cole, the founder of fast food vegan chain Slutty Vegan, is expanding her plant-based vision into the retail sector. This month, the entrepreneur will release “Pinky’s Dips," a line of vegan dips inspired by her famous recipes. Partnering with several Costcos across the Midwest and Southeast, the Pinky’s Dips line will soon allow customers to bring home the signature flavors that made Slutty Vegan famous nationwide.

The Pinky’s Dips selection will initially feature the Spinach Artichoke Dip, which has previously become available at Target locations across Atlanta. Now, the entrepreneur is eyeing the national retail sector to coincide with the brands’ national expansion. The team aims to expand the selection of Pinky’s Dips in the near future, adding more flavors and stores following its inaugural release.

“We’re bringing our latest vegan creation to Costco!” Cole said. “These bangin’ dips are as mouth-watering as our burgers and made with all vegan ingredients – but you’d never know it by the taste.”

Slutty Vegan’s partnership with Costco marks the brand’s third retail collaboration. In October 2021, Cole released two CBD gummy flavors: Mango Margarita and Pina Colada. Partnering with Atlanta Targets, Cole released the initial iteration of the Spinach Artichoke Dip along with a Hot-Lanta Chik’n dip.

Cole is working to bring vegan eating to all Americans. The vegan icon also announced the release of her first cookbook titled Eat Plants B*tch, slated for release in November 2022.

Slutty Vegan’s mouthwatering, plant-based burgers quickly gained national attention. Recently, Cole announced that Americans everywhere can expect to see a Slutty Vegan pop up in their cities in the near future. This May, the Atlanta-based entrepreneur announced her plans to open 20 additional locations by 2023. Following the company’s $25 million Series A funding round, Cole expects to begin national expansion over the next two years.

Cole revealed that 97 percent of her customers that order the plant-based burgers are meat-eaters, and she hopes to continue making vegan eats appealing to all customers. With the help of social commerce giant Richelieu Denni’s New Voices Fund and Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer, Cole intends to change how customers view vegan food.

The restauranteur is not only dedicated to creating tasty vegan eats but also remains devoted to supporting the communities where Slutty Vegan is located: Cole has launched funds to give scholarships to 30 juvenile offenders and college funds for the children of Rayshard Brooks, who was killed at the hands of police in 2020.

“When people see that you are not only building a profitable company, but you are building an ecosystem, people respect that,” Cole told Inc. “They continue to want to support you. It feels so good to know that level of growth can come beyond money, and funnel back out to our communities.”

Cole also launched The Pinky Cole Foundation to help give back to the communities where her businesses operate. The foundation allows Cole to get involved in different cities, helping underserved communities and people of color who face discrimination. The foundation also provides resources and education for Black-owned businesses.

“I started the Pinky Cole Foundation in 2019 as a way to help bridge the generational wealth gap,” Cole told POCIT. “Since our founding, I’ve partnered with the Steve and Marjorie Harvey Foundation to provide lights for families, given out thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables to families in need, as well as thousands of coats.”

“That is worth so much more to me than money in the bank. It gives me great joy and pride that I can utilize my resources to help an eco-system of people to be better.”

For more plant-based happenings, visit The Beet's News articles.

Fast-food restaurants have finally got the memo that their customer base isn’t just coming through for a burger, fried chicken, or a beef taco. Many now have plant-based foods and are coming up with creative, delicious ways to get more greens on the menu. Here are the 6 best fast-food chains with plant-based options on the menu.

Turns out there’s a lot more to rely on than a salad if you’re eating plant-based. Burger King has the Impossible Whopper featuring a meatless patty as well as a few secretly vegan options such as the French Toast Sticks and Hashbrowns.

Known for its mini square-shaped sliders, this hamburger chain jumped on the plant-based bandwagon at some participating locations. You can find an Impossible Slider on some White Castle menus.

This was the first national Mexican fast-food chain to offer Beyond Meat at the company’s 580 restaurants across the country. Del Taco has the Beyond Avocado Taco on the menu along with the Epic Beyond Original Mex Burrito and Avocado Veggie Bowl.

Another brand synonymous with beef burgers, Carl’s Jr. offers several plant-based options for veggie and plant lover such as Beyond Famous Star Burger and Guacamole Thickburger.

This fast-food restaurant may have been one of the first you frequented while transitioning to plant-based eating. That’s because Taco Bell has eight million vegetarian combinations and sells 350 million vegetarian items a year through menu substitutions or ordering off their vegetarian menu. In fact, they were the first quick-service restaurant to offer American Vegetarian Association (AVA) certified food options.

From the time it started offering breakfast sandwiches in 2006, the coffee conglomerate became a competitor in the fast-food space. You can get your favorite hot and cold beverages made with almond, coconut or oat milk but there are also plant-based food options available such as the Baja Black Bean Veggie Wrap, bagel with vegan cream cheese and Impossible Breakfast Sandwich.