Chicken accounts for 43 percent of the meat consumed by Americans, making it the country's favorite animal-based food. Food tech company Simulate intends to lower this number by producing plant-based products that appeal to meat-eaters worldwide. This week, Simulate teased the world's first fully plant-based chicken breast alternative on its Instagram.

Simulate revealed few details about the innovative meat alternatives, not yet divulging ingredients or nutritional information. But the company noted that shoppers can expect to see the Simulated Chicken Breast by early 2023.

The company's current vegan chicken selection uses a proprietary blend of soybean oil, wheat protein, and soy protein to replicate conventional chicken products. The company initially gained popularity with NUGGS, catching the attention of investors including Jay-Z and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian as well as influencers such as Bella Hadid.

Simulate Debuts Vegan Chicken in Restaurants

This announcement closely follows the company's decision to pivot to restaurant-designated products. This September, Simulate unveiled its plant-based cutlet and strips. The Cutlets replicate traditional fried chicken sandwich meat and the Strips provide home cooks and chefs with a grilled chicken substitute. The products use a new technology that applies heat and pressure to plant proteins to create fibrous, near-identical plant-based meat.

“It’s important for fibrous products, like Strips, and enables a really accurate, muscle-like simulation,” Pasternak said to TechCrunch. “High moisture extrusion is the first of a few technologies that we’ve been building and we’re excited to share more later this year.”

Simulate aims to develop products that appeal to food service brands, giving customers accessible plant-based options. Both new plant-based chicken products are designed with restaurant usability at the forefront.

“When we first launched Nuggs, they were only available on DTC via our website,” Pasternak continued “After we had much success with DTC, we transitioned to retail where the vast majority of our revenue comes from today. Now, we’re entering the next evolution of Simulate, where we’re primarily focused on building a heavy presence in restaurants.”

Simulates vegan chicken products can now be found at 12,000 retail locations worldwide. The company revealed that its year-over-year retail presence has increased by 140 percent. Now, the innovative brand intends to pivot to the food service sector with products such as its plant-based chicken breast. The company is currently valued at $260 million.

Read More: The Beet's Favorite Vegan Chicken Nuggets

Near-Identical Meat Substitutes Made From Plants

Meat and dairy products only provide the world with 18 percent of its total calories, but animal agriculture requires 83 percent of the planet's available farmland to produce. Despite growing environmental pressures, consumers are only gradually adopting plant-based eating, so companies such as Simulate are attempting to appeal to meat-eaters with near-identical vegan meat products.

Even though Simulate revealed the first plant-based chicken breast, several other brands have debuted near-identical alternatives to beef and steak products. This week, Juicy Marbles revealed a fully plant-based Whole-Cut Loin. The company debuted this innovative product shortly after launching its vegan filet mignon in the United States, which received a full endorsement from pop icon Lizzo.

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