Plant-based options: Commissaries add more burger, sausage, other meat alternatives

FORT LEE, Va. – Commissaries worldwide are offering plant-based meat options for burgers, ground beef and sausages that are trending well with patrons, said the Defense Commissary Agency’s director of sales.

“Many commissaries have long sold vegetarian and plant-based meat products in keeping with consumer demand,” said Tracie Russ, DeCA’s sales director. “But demand has grown for more of these options, and so we’ve expanded our offerings in our worldwide network of stores.”

There are four new alternative meat options from Beyond Meat that have been added to DeCA’s worldwide stock assortment: Beyond Burger, Brat Sausage, Hot Italian Sausage and Plant Based Ground. As these items have grown in popularity, many commissaries are cross-merchandising wherever possible to give them more exposure.

Plant-based options in commissaries fall in line with what’s offered in the grocery/retail industry at large, where alternative meats are trending high, especially with Millennials (born 1981-1996) and Gen. Xers (born 1965-1980), according to a Nov. 1 Progressive Grocer article.

As the popularity of these new products began to soar, DeCA’s sales category management team recognized the trend and added Beyond Meat to the commissary stock assortment, said Darrell Clary, the agency’s category manager for meat and seafood.

“The demand for these products is through the roof,” Clary said. “Whether it’s for health, convenience or taste, our patrons have demonstrated that they want plant-based meat. We are definitely looking at expanding our inventory of meat alternatives to match what our patrons want.”

The commissary’s plant-based meat offers patrons an increased ability to meet their health, fitness and lifestyle goals while also tasting similar to their animal protein counterparts, according to Health and Wellness Program Manager Deborah Harris, MPH, RD, CDE (Masters of Public Health, registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator).

“With an increased focus on the benefit of protein in the diet, plant sources of protein help meet protein needs as well as offer a different nutritional profile than animal sources,” Harris said. “For example, plant-based protein sources also provide fiber, which most Americans lack in their diets.

“Per the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a healthy eating pattern is one where nutrient needs are met with a variety of foods from a variety of sources,” she added. “It’s exciting to see that the commissary is working diligently to increase offerings to meet the multitude of lifestyle and dietary preferences of our military community while saving our patrons money in the process.”

The following dietary and lifestyle attributes of the four Beyond Meat plant-based meat options sold in commissaries include:

• Certified Kosher
• Vegan
• Non-GMO project verified
• No soy or gluten
• 20 grams of plant protein per serving
• 25 percent less saturated fat than ground beef
• Cholesterol-free

Once DeCA’s sales team added the new plant-based meat to its stock assortment, the agency spread the news about the products’ availability to all its commissaries, said Andrea Coyle, store operations perishable team member.

In March, commissaries began offering three of the items – The Beyond Burger, Brat Sausage, and Hot Italian Sausage. Patron demand grew slowly and by June, plant-based ground beef was added to the stock assortment. On the strength of a July sales promotion, product demand skyrocketed, so much so that demand temporarily outpaced supply, Coyle said.

 “Every month we are seeing double-digit increases in sales; the plant-based products are in very high demand and our stores are excited to be able to offer this stock assortment to their shoppers,” Coyle said.

-DeCA-

About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars annually on their purchases compared to similar products at commercial retailers. The discounted prices include a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.