The range includes two flavours of Happiee’s newly developed mushroom pieces – original and teriyaki – sold in 180g packs and both retailing at £4 per unit.
Currently being rolled out in in 240 Sainsbury’s stores nationwide, the mushroom pieces are pre-prepared, marinated and ready-to-cook. This separates the SKUs from fresh lion’s mane, Happiee said, which is naturally bitter and requires extensive preparation time.
The pieces contain 4.1g of protein, 2.8g of fibre and 0.9g of sugar per 100g, and have been developed to act as an alternative to chicken, beef, fish and plant-based meat alternatives.
Happiee’s current range includes several plant-based seafood options, such as its breaded and plain ‘Shrimpiee’ pieces, and its ‘Calamariee’ and ‘Squidiee’ rings. Various SKUs from the range are stocked by Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Ocado.
However, it has responded to growing demand for wholefood vegetarian options with this new launch, citing research which found that 45% of shoppers prefer wholefood alternatives to processed plant-based products.
The research also revealed that 33% of Brits are looking to increase how much plant-based food they eat this year, but 30% feel there aren’t enough healthy plant-based options on supermarket shelves.
Co-founder of Happiee, Justin Chou, explained that the brand is aiming to return the plant-based category back to a place where it is synonymous with healthier options.
“Our primary focus is on creating nutrient-rich, exciting foods made with mind-and-mood-boosting ingredients to drive consumer cut through at a time where we’re seeing the plant-based meat category declining due to the ultra-processed food link,” said Chou.
“We want to be the fresh face of the plant-based wholefood category where we see huge growth opportunity.”
Happiee is owned by Growthwell Foods, a plant-based nutrition company located in Singapore where Chou serves as CEO. It also owns the chickpea milk alternative brand EPIC’C and plant-based Taiwanese cuisine brand Ta Ching.
