Alt chicken made from dairy
Dairy collective FrieslandCampina is launching a new meat-free chicken alternative brand in the UK. Coined Tender’lish, the brand is made up of four products: Chick’n Cheese Escalope, Crispy Chik’n Fillet Burger, Crunchy Chik’n Tenders and Crispy Chik’n Fillets.
The brand boasts a ‘prolific’ presence in retail and foodservice outlets in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands as well as in four McDonald’s markets.
The Tender’lish chicken alternatives are made from a dairy base, unlike other chicken alternative makers who use soy, pea or mycoprotein to form their base of protein. Indeed, the Tender’lish products are made with up to 60% skimmed milk.
According to FrieslandCampina, the high dairy content provides a reliable and trusted source of high-quality protein and calcium, whilst the products are a source of fibre and iron. The dairy base also provides a ‘succulent and moist mouthfeel’, with textures replicating those found in real chicken, noted the company.
“After several years of successive double-digit growth, performance in the meat-alternative category has been challenging over the past six months. However, at a time when some manufacturers are withdrawing from the UK market, FrieslandCampia is confidently investing for future growth, offering something genuinely new, different and superior within the key growth subset of chicken alternatives,” said Alison Lees, UK marketing lead for Tender’lish.
“The key category barrier remains taste, whilst our products outperform not just meat-free but even real chicken products in expert sensory panels.”
The brand is rolling out in the UK grocery channel from October, with product RSP ranging from £3 to 3.25.
Image source: FrieslandCampina
