Plant-based food products are on the rise, and new meat, egg and dairy-free products are popping up on shelves at a rapid pace. But one thing that's been noticeably missing from the plant-based product aisle—an artisanal, high-quality butter substitute that doesn't compromise on flavor, texture, or versatility.
Excitingly, there's a new dairy-free butter in town, thanks to Fora Foods, a Brooklyn-based food company founded by Andrew McClure and Aidan Altman. Andrew and Aidan are on a mission to bring a sustainable vegan butter, called Faba Butter, to a grocery store near you.
Meet The Duo Behind Fora Foods
Andrew and Aidan met at the University of Michigan, and graduated together in 2015. Aiden went on to work on a food startup brand, and Andrew went into food marketing and advertising. Being involved in the food world opened their eyes to the environmental impact of the food industry, and they began to care about creating more sustainable food systems.
Both decided to go vegan a little over a year ago, but Andrew and Aidan felt the plant-based product market was missing something: a delicious, high-quality, 1:1 replacement for grass-fed butter. Now, they've joined forces in the plant-based food startup world to start Fora Foods.
What Makes Their Vegan Butter Different
While plant-based buttery spreads are not new to the market, Andrew and Aidan found that many were outdated, lacked flavor, were made with strange, artificial ingredients, and even lacked the structural integrity and flavor required to make fine pastries like croissants and biscuits. A lot of times, they found the shelves full of tubs of margarine disguised as vegan butter, which left them looking for something better.
So the two took matters into their own hands. After tinkering with recipes for hours between their full-time day jobs, Faba Butter was born.
Aquafaba (the liquid left over from cooking chickpeas) is a key ingredient that differentiates Faba Butter from the rest of plant-based butter crowd. Acting as the butter's emulsifier, aquafaba gives Faba Butter a smooth, viscous texture, delicious flavor, and mouthfeel that tastes, spreads, and bakes just like real butter.
The company sources their aquafaba from hummus manufacturer's, who would otherwise throw the golden liquid away, proving one man's trash, is another man's golden butter.
Faba Butter is certified vegan, non-GMO and kosher, and is free from artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.
Where You Can Get Faba Butter
Faba Butter isn't available in stores yet, but you can get your hands on the first batch by supporting their KickStarter campaign, which opened March 13 at 10 am est. You can also sign up for their email list on their website. Early supporters will be rewarded with the first shipments of Faba Butter, before it even hits shelves.
Creators Andrew and Aidan are just getting started. Fueled with a passion for sustainability and plant-based food products, they hope to launch other aquafaba-infused products under Fora Foods, including whipped cream, frosting and dressings. It's an epic win for dairy-free butter lovers everywhere—I'll raise a vegan buttery croissant to that.