Boosh Food: Plant-Based Comfort Food Brand Preps for Major Growth

Plant-based eating is quickly becoming a big business. No longer just a tiny subset of the global food industry, vegan food has entered the mainstream, as people around the world embrace meat alternatives. The desire for both healthier lifestyles and a more sustainable food system has to lead to a perfect storm for an emerging industry. 17% of Americans now eat a predominantly plant-based diet, and the number of people who are embracing a flexitarian diet – that is veggie-curious people open to incorporating more plant-based foods in their diets – has reached more than 40% of the Canadian population.

The shift in global eating habits has made its way to grocery store shelves, where the projected numbers for the plant-based food market are staggering. According to a 2021 report by global investing giant Credit Suisse, sales of plant-based alternatives to milk and meat could reach up to $1.4 trillion by the year 2050. In the shorter term, plant-based food sales increased 27% in 2020, according to the Plant Based Foods Association.

Investment money is starting to flow to upstart plant-based food companies that are developing new and innovative takes on vegan food. Vancouver-based Boosh Food (CSE: VEGI, OTCQB: VGGIF) – specializing in ready to eat or easy to prepare vegan comfort food – is aiming to meet this surge in demand for vegan food head on, with their 100% plant-based, non-GMO, gluten free, ready to eat meals.

Founded in 2017 in the Vancouver kitchen of food entrepreneur, Connie Marples, Boosh Food began distributing their family-oriented plant-based comfort food in 2018, were firmly entrenched through major Canadian retailers by the end of 2020, and went public in the spring of 2021.

Boosh’s rapid expansion is all part of the game plan, according to CEO and Chairman, Jim Pakulis. “A tremendous amount of capital is going to be transferred from the animal protein-based world to the plant-based world. And we're seeing that take effect right now. We want to be one of the disruptive leaders in the shift throughout North America.”

While many of Boosh’s competitors – like Oatly (OTLY: NASDAQ), and Beyond Meat (BYND: NASDAQ) are attempting to replicate protein, dairy, or eggs, Boosh is specializing in fast and convenient complete meals. The company has created six frozen 100% plant-based heat and serve bowls and entrees, 3 ready-to-eat refrigerated meals and 2 shelf-stable Vegan Mac n Cheeze that Marples believes gives Boosh a unique angle in the marketplace. “What we're doing is trying to make it easy for people to eat plant-based by providing them with a complete ready to eat or easy to assemble meal. So that's our biggest differentiator.”

In the wake of Boosh’s IPO, Pakulis – a seasoned executive with a track record of quickly scaling smaller publicly traded companies in emerging sectors – has made a number of aggressive moves to help quickly scale the company. "Since our IPO roughly four months ago, we've laid the foundation for four revenue streams; organic growth by increasing the number of stores selling Boosh products, US expansion through Thrive Natural Sales, E-commerce through ShopVejii.com, and acquisitions.”

On the organic growth front, Boosh is expanding the number of Canadian grocery stores that feature their products – up to 440 and counting – while also planning a major expansion into the United States, where Thrive is actively working to get the company’s products on to the shelves of major grocery chains.

The expansion into the United States has always been part of Boosh’s long-term growth plan according to Marples. “We always knew we wanted to go into the US right from the get-go. Frozen is the number one growing category in the US and plant-based, is number two. So combining those is wonderful. Having a partnership with Shopvej.com allows us to offer home delivery of boosh throughout North America while we work on getting listings at retail level. Our US freezer warehouse is set up with Boosh products and we are ready!”

Anticipating a major surge in production, Boosh is expanding their facilities in their home base of Vancouver. They’ve recently leased an 8500 square foot space that will include a commercial-grade test kitchen for product development and a kitchen studio for filmed cooking segments.

Another key growth strategy that Boosh is employing is aggressive acquisition. The company recently acquired plant-based cheese-makers Pulse Kitchen Specialty Foods to complement previous acquisitions Vegan Canteen and Saltspring Harvest. Pakulis sees these moves as key pillars in Boosh’s growth strategy. “Pulse Kitchen is our third acquisition since February, and we believe it will be synergistic to our brands in our expanding portfolio…we continue to be in discussions with other plant-based acquisition candidates who are looking for access to capital and a corporate infrastructure designed for growth."

To further help facilitate Boosh’s expansion, the company has recently announced a slew of top tier moves in the boardroom, adding industry veterans Ali Samei as Vice President of Operations, Maria Hussaini as CFO, TJ Walsh as VP of Sales, Lilin Chen as Quality Assurance & Production Development Manager, and Dave Richardson as Special Advisor to their executive team.

With expansion happening so rapidly, Marples is confident that the market for vegan food, is not merely a passing fad. “It's not a trend. This is something that obviously we all need for the planet. The reality is we have to change our eating habits and we need to make it delicious and accessible.”

Pakulis is also optimistic and is confident that the changes he’s implemented at Boosh will bear fruit. “We had to create the infrastructure for growth. We had to make sure management was in place, operations were in place. We’re there now to execute the game plan of being as aggressive as possible to go into 2022."

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