The last Quarter
Fable ’ s fairytale of New York
Fable Food Co launches into the US market at New York ’ s Beatnic vegan restaurants .
BY RUTH HOGAN
Australian plant-based food company
Fable Food Co has notched up another major market as part of its international expansion , recently launching into vegan restaurant Beatnic in New York City .
It marks the brand ’ s entry into the US with its meaty mushroom product expected to intrigue New Yorkers at the brand ’ s eight locations across the city , as well as visitors to its restaurant in Boston , Massachusetts .
For Fable Food co-founder Michael Fox , who spent four years living in the US , it ’ s a partnership that ’ s close to his heart .
“ I first went vegetarian when I was living in LA and I travelled to New York quite a bit . I used to eat at Beatnic whenever I would go to New York . Their food is excellent and it ’ s all plant based ,” Fox said .
Recently , Fox reached out to the restaurant to thank them for helping him cut meat out of his diet and offer them some Fable samples to try .
“ They loved it ,” he said . And they ’ ve since added two Fable dishes to their menu , Loaded Shroom Nachos and Magic Mushroom Salad .
International growth
The US is the latest in a long list of international markets tackled by the Sunshine Coast-based company in the last 12 months . The brand ’ s long-standing partnership with acclaimed chef Heston Blumenthal is helping Fable gain notoriety in the UK , in particular .
“ We launched into premium restaurant chain Leon , which has around 70 stores in the UK . There were 10 weeks of promo and the product sold out in three and a half weeks . We ’ re also in a vegan chain over there called The Vurger Co , and we have more UK launches in the pipeline ,” Fox said .
The company has expanded its UK team with the addition of sales personnel and the appointment of Dan Joyce , former general manager EMEA at computer software company SafetyCulture , as chief growth officer .
In Asia , Singapore is a key market for Fable , thanks to the strong consumer demand for plant-based products .
“ Singapore is a bit of a hub in the meat alternative space ,” Fox said . “ We ’ ve got quite a few investors and food industry partners there .”
The brand has launched into a number of restaurants in the famed Marina Bay Sands Hotel and , in recent weeks , made its debut with premium salad chain SaladStop , which has 13 stores in the region .
Local demand
Back in August , Fable Food Co raised $ 6.5 million in a seed funding round backed by Blackbird Ventures , Silicon Valleybased AgFunder and a major Singaporean food distributor , to support research and development , as well as to expand the company ’ s manufacturing capabilities in Australia and overseas .
As the trend towards plant-based food continues to grow in Australia , the brand has aligned with major food industry giants including restaurant chain Grill ’ d , supported by Heston Blumenthal , Mexican restaurant chain Guzman y Gomez and meal kit provider Marley Spoon .
The brand has also built up a strong presence across the nation ’ s major supermarkets offering its ready-meal products created in partnership with Blumenthal , as well as its base product , for home cooking , at Harris Farm Markets , independent grocers and select Coles supermarkets .
And while demand in retail is strong ,
Fox says food service remains a key focus for the business .
“ Retail is really good , but we ’ re more focused on food service because it ’ s simple operationally for us ,” he said .
“ Working with the culinary teams at Grill ’ d , Guzman y Gomez and Marley Spoon , they can take our product and make really amazing food with it , so when customers try our products they are trying it in a dish that is amazing and delicious .”
New competitors enter the market
Recently , Impossible Foods , a leader in the plant-based space launched into Australia to much acclaim . But rather than fearing competition from Impossible , Fox is excited to see more players enter the space .
“ The global meat industry is worth $ US2 trillion and is 2.5 per cent of global GDP . It ’ s one of the world ’ s largest industries . Our mission at Fable is to help move that to meat made from mushrooms and plants rather than animals , and we won ’ t be able to do that alone , so it ’ s great there are other companies like Impossible Foods also operating in the space ,” he said .
Impossible and Fable have very different approaches to plant-based products and both have their place in the market , Fox explained .
“ Impossible aims to replicate everything about meat , including making it turn from red to brown as it cooks and making it bleed . That ’ s a great approach for many consumers and they ’ ve had great success with this . Our approach at Fable is to replicate meat , but do it using whole food , agriculturally grown mushrooms as the base ingredient , then a short list of all natural , minimally processed ingredients ,” he said .
“ We ’ re seeing that there ’ s a great segment of the market that wants this too .”