NUGGS<\/a> are a more advanced version of the animal-based chicken nuggets that have dominated the market for decades. After over a year of research and development, NUGGS has developed a nugget that uses an advanced texturized pea protein technology to create a nugget with the best texture, crunch and taste. Unlike any other nugget currently available, NUGGS are free from major allergens, including eggs, wheat, dairy and soy. Additionally, they have a higher protein content (22g per serving), are lower in calories (180 calories per serving) than regular chicken nuggets and are free from cholesterol and antibiotics.<\/p>\nNUGGS operates similar to a technology startup with Pasternak taking a unique approach to product development. Much like an app, NUGGS will release updates to the nuggets as the formula is constantly improved, based on user feedback. \u201cNUGGS is the intersection of food and the internet\u201d, says Pasternak, CEO and founder. \u201cWe set out to make the best nugget period, not the best clean meat nugget.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team behind NUGGS<\/h3>\n
Pasternak\u2019s previous success in the tech sector includes being the youngest person to receive backing from Silicon Valley Venture Capitalists at the age of 15. After his wildly successful app Monkey was acquired in late 2017 (which currently boasts close to 20 million users), Pasternak turned his attention to helping end factory farming. He assembled a young team as passionate as he is: Head of Product is 20-year-old Liam Mullen, a self-taught molecular gastronomist who worked at Michelin Star restaurant Daniel as a pastry chef at the age of 16. 20-year old social media maven, with 6 million Instagram followers across her accounts, is Alex Michelle, Head of Growth.<\/p>\n
NUGGS raised $7 million in funding, led by industry giant McCain Foods, who manufactures the nuggets. \u201cAt McCain we believe NUGGS has developed an incredible product that uses plant based technology to uniquely simulate a high quality chicken nugget. A significant factor in achieving this is their approach to fast and iterative innovation, which is based on constant consumer feedback. We believe the combination of the NUGGS approach and McCain\u2019s production and commercial expertise will accelerate the brand\u2019s growth and deliver market scale,\u201d says Mauro Pennella, Chief Growth Officer at McCain Foods.<\/p>\n
Other investors include Rainfall Ventures; Greylock Discovery Fund; Maven Ventures; NOMO Ventures; M Ventures; ACME Capital; Founder of MTV and CEO of iHeartMedia, Bob Pittman; Casper Founder & COO, Neil Parikh; and Former President of Tumblr, John Maloney.<\/p>\n
To enable the startup to effectively target their most important demographic, consumers who have not yet tried animal-based meat free products, NUGGS is currently only available direct to consumer, with plans to expand to retail and food service in the near future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NUGGS, the world\u2019s first vegan \u2018chicken\u2019 nugget startup, launched by the 19-year-old founder Ben Pasternak announced a $7M funding round led by McCain Foods in read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[110,112,114,116,118,80,85,89,124,104,134,109,120,119,123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eating","category-design-main-2","category-sustainability","category-co-creation","category-tech","category-sector-2","category-fast-food-sector","category-restaurant-sector","category-p-en","category-catering-sector-2","category-tip-2","category-trends-2","category-product-2","category-price","category-promotion"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNUGGS | Vegan \u2018chicken\u2019 nuggets, development as a tech startup | horecatrends.com<\/title>\n<meta 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