85. THIS™

Founders: Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman
Founded: 2019
Website: this.co

2020 was the year of pretty drastic changes – and let’s not forget the shift in our lifestyle habits, either. Without the long commutes and fancy nights out on the weekend, most people were focusing on what their bodies were consuming – and plant-based diets were all the rage.

Founded in 2019 by Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman, THIS™ stormed the supermarkets with their plant-based food products for meat lovers.

The ironic part of the story? Shovel and Sharman previously ran a lucrative (real) beef burger restaurant chain, which ended up offering them a tonne of knowledge in the industry to then go and create the perfect alternative to meat.

At Startups, we look for companies that solve common everyday problems for the people. This is exactly what Shovel and Sharman did with THIS™ .

Ironically, Shovel and Sharman previously ran a lucrative (real) beef burger restaurant chain, which ended up offering them a tonne of knowledge in the industry

Targeting the growing ‘meat-reducer’ demographic, Shovel and Sharman knew their primary consumers were carnivores (or vegans) looking for a well put-together meaty, plant-based alternative – that didn’t taste awful!

They saw the environmental damage of traditional meat sources and went about creating products that managed to imitate the texture, taste, appearance and nutritional value of real meat, and still avoid the ethical downfall.

You may be thinking how they managed to pull off the most realistic alternative, right? Well, they partnered up with global food experts and food scientists to help them get it spot on.

There is no doubt that THIS™ will continue to soar and aid more people in making conscious lifestyle choices - not just in the UK, but across the world too

THIS™ still works to bring its products to the masses by placing them in over 2,000 retail outlets across the UK, in line with its split sales business model of 80% retail and 20% food-service partnerships.

You can find THIS™ plant-based products on the shelves of supermarket giants like Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Waitrose, as well as UK food-service partners including Barburrito, Brewdog, Coco Di Mama and Halo Burger – reaching a total of 9,000 distribution points in total.

There is no doubt that Shovel and Sharman will continue to soar and aid more people in making conscious lifestyle choices – not just in the UK, but across the world too.