Purple Carrot Single-Serve Meals Come To Whole Foods Market

To provide single-serve frozen products in retail stores, Purple Carrot has rolled out its completely plant-based meals at most Whole Food Market locations throughout the nation in the frozen food section. The brand said it developed the meals with the same dietary ideas and flavor profiles that are at the center of its meal kit product, according to an announcement.

Purple Carrot will roll out four single-service meals with the help of Conagra Brands. Those offerings include Sweet Corn Elote Bowl, Maple Chipotle Veggie Bowl, Fiesta Pepper Bowl and Plant-Based Meatball Marinara. Customers will have the ability to buy the meals at almost all Whole Foods U.S. stores beginning the first week of July. Each meal has a $5.29 MSRP.

Purple Carrot Founder and CEO Andy Levitt said in the announcement, “As more and more consumers are seeking to add plant-based options to their weekly routines but aren’t ready to commit to a full lifestyle change, these single-serve meals offer a perfect way to get a taste of what plant-based foods can offer.”

Levitt said, “Purple Carrot has been dedicated to creating incredible plant-based meals that even non-plant-based consumers will love, and our new frozen line is no different.”

The company said the frozen foods market has dramatically expanded over the past few years, especially for products that fit with consumer demand for greater plant-based options per the National Frozen and Refrigerated Foods Association.

The news comes as consumers’ desire for plant-based food is on the rise, with the market for those items reaching a high of $5 billion in 2019. According to the Plant-Based Foods Association (PBFA), that originates from 11.4 percent in year-over-year sales growth.

The sales of plant-based foods increased approximately five times quicker than retail food sales in the U.S. as a whole, which only rose 2.2 percent in 2019, per PBFA and The Good Food Institute numbers. The growth last year was also said to be higher than in 2018.