Tabitha Brown’s wisdom has helped many of her fans live more intentional lives. If your intent is to keep your oven off for the rest of the summer, the mega-influencer has a new air fryer—and entire kitchen gadget collection—at Target just for you.
Next Level Burger is a pioneer in plant-based fast food. This week, Newsweek readers are giving the chain its due recognition by naming it among the top 10 fast-food chains in the country.
And KFC has a new frozen treat from Oatly (but you’ll have to travel to try it).
Read on for more.
Table of Contents
Food news
During the summer months, meatless burgers and sausages get the most attention for their outdoor grilling possibilities. However, this week, innovative company Juicy Marbles just launched its version of another meaty summer classic: plant-based baby back ribs complete with edible bones.
Juicy Marbles
A petite take on its previously released plant-based rack of ribs, these Baby Ribs feature Juicy Marbles’ new Marble 3.0 recipe. “For years, we’ve gathered feedback from thousands of curious eaters,” Vladimir Mićković, Juicy Marbles co-founder & Chief Brand Officer, said in a statement.
“Since more than half of our customers aren’t vegan, the research showed us a simple truth about food: we all want our food to be tasty, but we want it to be nutritionally sensible as well,” Mićković said.
While traditional pork ribs take more than five hours to prepare, Juicy Marbles’ plant-based Baby Ribs cut down cooking time to just 15 to 20 minutes.
To enhance the eating experience, Juicy Marbles developed its own plant-based bones made from pure plant protein. These bones are 100-percent compostable and even edible, allowing home cooks to bake, fry, or air-fry them into crispy snacks or use them to make stock.
Juicy Marbles
“We are aware that making bones out of plants may seem irrational, but some of the best things about our food culture are completely irrational,” Mićković said. “‘Baby Ribs’ are meant to be a fun product that you eat with your hands and, while doing that, obtain an ungodly amount of protein and then some.”
For customers in the United States, the Baby Ribs are now available on the Juicy Marbles webshop, priced in 2-pack ($59), 4-pack ($94), and 6-pack ($139) options with free shipping. Customers in the European Union and United Kingdom can expect them in retail by the end of the year.
In more meaty news, Elmhurst—a former dairy company turned plant-based milk maker—just unveiled a new plant-based chicken it developed using hemp protein. The company’s new TerraMeat Plant-Based Chick’n features a short ingredient panel, no fillers, and provides 26 grams of complete protein per serving.
The difference between Elmhurst’s new plant-based chicken and competing brands is that it’s not quite ready to eat. TerraMeat starts as a dry powder and requires the addition of water, oil, and spices, which then goes for a spin in the microwave.
Elmhurst offers a starter kit ($47.50) that includes 10 Pouches Plant-Based Chick’n Powder, 10 Packets Original Spice Blend, and a silicone mixing cup and spatula. Refills of the chicken powder are available, as well.
There’s also some refreshing news this week from popsicle maker JonnyPops which just announced the launch of its new Organic 8-Pop Party Pack, featuring eight different water ice pop flavors. This marks JonnyPops’ third innovative product launch this year, following its introduction of layered water ice pops in March.
“While our fans fell in love with our Rainbow pop where every layer is a different color and flavor, they also fell in love with its individual layers,” Erik Brust, CEO of JonnyPops, said in a statement.
“We’ve been receiving requests ever since for single-flavor JonnyPops that feature flavors from our current best-sellers, so we are positive that our fans will love this launch,” Brust said.
Ideal for backyard barbecues, birthday parties, or casual summer evenings, the popsicle pack includes eight flavors: Cherry, Strawberry, Orange, Lemon Sherbet, Tropical Lime, Blue Raspberry, Grape, and Root Beer.
Celebrity news
Tabitha Brown’s Target line continues to grow with exciting new items. This week, when shoppers rushed to the store to try out Brown’s new wines—available in Hello There red blend and Love Y’All Moscato—they found a variety of kitchen appliances bearing Brown’s name, as well.
Target
That’s because the mega-influencer now has a collection of her favorite kitchen gadgets and items at Target, including an air fryer, food processor, blender, and sauté pans (complete with handles shaped like afro picks in reference to Donna, the name Brown gave to her hair).
“As my collection grows at Target, you’ll see a lot of little nods to Donna like afro picks and things,” Brown announced on Instagram. “I want to see if you can catch them all.”
What’s next? Brown revealed that wine glasses are on the way to Target, where her food line is also becoming a popular permanent fixture.
Tyson 2.0
In more celebrity news, boxing legend Mike Tyson is known for his love of plants, specifically cannabis, and launched his own brand Tyson 2.0 in 2021 to back it up.
This week, Tyson is expanding his product line from cannabis to psychedelics with the launch of Mikeadelics, an at-home mushroom grow kit developed by Advanced Mycology.
With Mikeadelics, Tyson aims to make mushroom cultivation accessible and safe. The kit includes an all-in-one grow bag, detailed instruction booklet, inoculation data label, alcohol wipe, and a Mylar storage bag with a dry pack to store your dried mushrooms. The kit also features unique filter strip technology to enhance airflow and prevent bacteria and mold.
Customers can choose to inoculate the grow kit with spores from common edible mushrooms or psychedelic varieties. The DEA has indicated that mushroom spores are legal to purchase and ship, as they only produce psychedelic mushrooms after being injected into soil.
“Mikeadelics represents a personal journey for me,” Tyson said in a statement. “My interest in psychedelics has been well-documented, and I’m excited to offer a product that makes growing mushrooms accessible to everyone.”
Mikeadelics kits ($50) are now rolling out to smoke shops and shipping nationwide.
Restaurant news
If you find yourself in Providence, RI, this summer, there’s a new plant-based deli that’s worth a visit. In its second month of operation, the deli offers a delectable selection of unique vegan sandwiches, classic deli salads, and housemade seitan, sliced thin and stuffed into a variety of sandwiches.
PV Deli
Popular menu items include the “Reubenesque,” a vegan twist on the classic Reuben sandwich with housemade seitan, sauerkraut, and vegan cheese; the “BLT-Avo,” featuring crispy tempeh bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado; and the “Buffalo Chickpea Salad,” a spicy chickpea salad with celery, carrots, and vegan ranch dressing.
“We’re excited to be a part of Providence’s vibrant food scene,” Rich Gaccione, owner of Providence Vegan Deli, said in a statement. “We believe that vegan food can be flavorful, satisfying, and accessible to everyone, and we’re passionate about sharing our love of simple and delicious vegan foods with the community.”
Next Level Burger
Newsweek readers think vegan food is full of flavor, too, and picked plant-based chain Next Level Burger—which serves vegan takes on classic fast food—as one of the top 10 fast-food chains in the country.
The only plant-based chain on the list is Next Level Burger—which also owns plant-based chain Veggie Grill—right up there with major chains such as Chick-fil-A, Popeyes, and In-N-Out Burger. Missing from the list were giants such as McDonald’s and Burger King.
“The fact that our 10-unit vegan restaurant chain was able to beat out chains with thousands of units and global brand presence is an incredible honor,” Matt de Gruyter, co-founder and CEO of NLB and Veggie Grill by Next Level, said in a statement. “For us, the significance of this win is even deeper, as it shows that consumers are becoming more aware of the footprint of their food choices.”
“This is the story of forward-thinking stewardship and sustainability—for ourselves, our planet and the sentient beings we share it with,” de Gruyter said. “At NLB, we believe the future is bright, but that it’s up to all of us to make sure of it.”
Oatly
While KFC also failed to snag a Newsweek Readers Choice Award in America, over in China, the fast-food giant just added a new plant-based offering thanks to Swedish company Oatly.
The limited-edition citrus-flavored ice pop, called the Bursting Citrus Trio, features a blend of three different kinds of lemons and crunchy bits of frozen candied lemon peel. This new vegan popsicle is part of Oatly’s partnership with KFC, aimed at bringing healthier, plant-based options to the Chinese market.
This expands on Oatly’s ongoing relationship with KFC, which added Strawberry and Chocolate ice cream and Latte flavored soft serve—all made with oat milk—to its menus in China back in 2021.
For more plant-based stories like this, read:
Anna Starostinetskaya is the Senior News Editor at VegNews and is always keeping an eye on all things vegan in her home city of San Francisco, CA and everywhere else.
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