Plant-Based Innovation Wins Over Flexitarian Consumers
The Culinary Edge crafts V’DGZ, McCain’s award-winning plant-based shareables.
HOW WE DID IT
McCain Foods, a leading supplier of frozen potato and snack products, identified a growing market for plant-based appetizers driven by consumers’ health, environmental and animal welfare concerns. To appeal to younger flexitarians and new-to-brand consumers, McCain sought to create vegetable-forward alternatives to traditional meat-based appetizers suitable for foodservice operations.
They reached out to The Culinary Edge (TCE), a division of CORE Foodservice, known for its expertise in restaurant creation, product and menu development, brand identity and operational design.
TCE’s market research revealed that plant-based products don’t need to “pretend to be meat” (i.e. by being processed to literally imitate meat). Instead, our target consumer seeks whole vegetables – and some vegetables can functionally replace meat in appetizers.
Collaborating with McCain, TCE fast-tracked recipe development for several product concepts, focusing on “meat replacers” and “plant celebrators” that were desirable to consumers, feasible for operators and viable for manufacturing. McCain’s R&D team ensured that the chosen vegetables were operationally feasible and could be manufactured according to McCain’s standards.
V’DGZ’s success lies in emphasizing whole vegetables without pretending they’re meat. By skillfully highlighting natural textures and flavors, whole vegetables became the heroes.
McCain successfully launched the V’DGZ line, including CAULI WNGZ, CORN RBZ, and BRUSSLZ in spring 2023. The products, developed by The Culinary Edge, won The National Restaurant Show’s 2023 Food and Beverage (FABI) Award for their innovative and trendsetting appeal. The new menu offerings delighted customers and solidified McCain’s position at the forefront of plant-based food innovation.
After a successful foodservice launch, the products are now available as Tast!ez in Canadian grocery stores.
