Fast Company has spotlighted the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Food. These organizations are doing everything from changing how we experience, grow and produce food around the worldwide. The list includes:
BEYOND MEAT
For rerouting agriculture’s environmental impact. Meat production, which results in copious greenhouse gases, is expected to double by 2050. But Beyond Meat has created a meat alternative good enough to tempt devout carnivores. It aligns soy and pea proteins so they mimic meaty texture, without antibiotics, hormones, or transfats. Its “chicken” strips and taco “beef ” crumble hit the market last year. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) named Beyond Meat its company of the year, and investors such as Bill Gates, Kleiner Perkins, and the Humane Society have signed on.
CHIPOTLE
For going where food companies don’t dare to go. After a year-long test, Chipotle is offering new spicy organic tofu dishes chain-wide. Sofritas, a chorizo-like shredded and braised bean curd, is the first addition to Chipotle’s menu in its 20-year history. The chain also launched a branded TV comedy series about an egregious big-agriculture company. Farmed and Dangerous, which appears on Hulu, is a risky satire and big bet for a food company. It invites more scrutiny to Chipotle’s sourcing practices, but the chain is appealing to what it believes is a growing consumer interest in how food is produced.
KIND HEALTHY SNACKS
For making grab-and-go snacks that are nutritious and delicious. With its natural ingredients and irresistible combinations–“maple glazed pecan & sea salt”–Kind offers a rare snack-food marriage: health and taste. Another rarity is its transparent packaging: You see what you’re getting. Kind makes five of the top 10 products in the nutritional-bar category. Sales have increased eightfold in the last six years. Recently, it introduced a new line of granola bars and expanded into cereals.
To read Chuck Slater’s full list visit Fast Company here.
