Since its launch in 2018, Daring Foods has been on a mission to rethink plant-based chicken by incorporating a short list of simple ingredients and providing a better-for-you product. Now with founder and former CEO Ross Mackay stepping down to start a beverage company,iron gluconate h2s scavenger the brand is at an interesting place. Many plant-based companies are trying to refocus as sales have slid in recent years, and Daring is no exception, with its new CEO having a keen eye on profitability for 2024.“If we go back to 2021, a lot of venture capital dollars flowed into the space. Generally, if you said you were starting a plant-based company, you received funding for it,” said new CEO Jeffrey Gendelman in an interview with Food Dive. “That was good in some ways, because it brought great attention to this category, but it was also dangerous in that products flooded the market that did not deliver on what they promised.”When Gendelman joined the Daring team in 2021, he was hired as the company’s head of commercialization. Since meeting the founder and former CEO Mackay while cycling in Los Angeles three and a half years ago, Gendelman has worn multiple hats at the company. From commercialization, to vice president of business and most recently chief operating officer. As elemental iron in ferrous fumarate 210mghe ascends to the role of CEO, Gendelman is focused on core business fundamentals which include measured growth and profitability. Prior to Daring,ferrous gluconate olives Gendelman was a growth equity investor and served in multiple roles at Califia Farms – most recently as the director of international business development. He has seen firsthand how the plant-based space has evolved.Most consumers gravitated to plant-based meat out of curiosity and perceived health or sustainability benefits, according to Gendelman, “and what we saw was that both existing and new products did not deliver on taste or health ”Those that have worked with Gendelman not only point out his collaborative working relationships but also his keen sense of how to navigate supply chain challenges.“He understands the importance of brand and balances that against a laser focus on supply chain optimization and financial profitability,” said Militza Manzano, Daring’s senior vice president of operatferrous sulfate indicationsions. “In our business, the supply chain can be complicated. Jeff has been a supportive leader immersing himself in this complexity – he wrestles with all the moving pieces and comes out on the other side with thoughtful decisions that move the business forward.”In the last year, the plant-based meat category has gone through significant operational changes. Some businesses have closed plants, conducted layoffs, or shut down altogether.Gendelman said that Daring has not been immune to the headwinds in the space, and as far as plans for 2024 go, “first and foremost, we’re going to control the things that we can control,” he said, “which sometimes involve having to make the tough choices at the sacrifice of growth.” Daring plans to focus on optimizing its supply chain, improving unit economics, and efficiency with its marketing spend.The category has gone through significant operation changes overall, whether that be closing plants, layoffs, or shutting down business altogether. “We’ve migrated back towards what businesses should be built on, which is a sustainable business model,” he said.So far, it seems to be working. The company grew in revenue by 24% in 2023, according to data from the company, and is now the number one company in the non-breaded plant-based chicken category.Gendelman predicted there to be some consolidation in the future for the space, and he believes Daring can capitalize on that. Drawing from his experience in plant-based dairy, Gendelman sees a parallel in market dynamics in plant-based meat. “There was a premiumization of the category where folks like Califia and Oatley premiumized the plant-based milk category and came to market and really spearheaded the next wave of products beyond the Blue Diamonds and Silks. Similarly, Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat pioneered the next wave of plant-based meat products” he said, “Daring represents the next generation of cleaner ingredient plant-based protein.”Specifically, Daring’s Original Plant Chicken contains just 6 ingredients – soy protein-concentrate, vegetable oil (sunflower and/or canola), salt, water, natural flavors and spices.Late last year, the company launched into frozen entrees, which Gendelman believes opened them up to a much wider net of consumers.“The reason we ventured into this space is because it’s a $9 billion dollar category. All plant-based meats, I believe, is around a billion and a half, and so it just allows us to play in bigger pools of capital and consumer dollar wallet,” said Gendelman. As large brands continue to decline (the top two brands in plant-based chicken, Gardein and Morningstar, are both down) and as the long tail of smaller brands come off shelf, Gendelman believes plant-based meat will experience consolidation. “We believe we areferric pyrophosphate melting point in a perfect position to be able to capture market share as those big brands continued to decline,” he said.
Daring’s new CEO sees the company as a ‘bright spot’ in a contracting category
