BIRMINGHAM, Mich. (WXYZ) — Here’s the skinny! Metro Detroit-based Skinny Butcher, a plant-based brand launched by the former Garden Fresh Gourmet executives behind America’s #1 fresh salsa, has announced its’ restaurant quality line of Crazy Crispy Chick’n Breasts, Tenders, Nuggets, and Patties is now available throughout Michigan at Costco Wholesale, all Gordon Food Service outlets, and SpartanNash corporate stores.
Unlike Garden Fresh’s humble beginnings, at the Aronson’s struggling Ferndale restaurant, Skinny Butcher debuted nationally in the competitive, plant-based frozen poultry alternatives category in May 2022 at Walmart. The playful Skinny Butcher brand, featuring a retro butcher winking impishly at consumers, was part of an irreverent copromotion with the popular Netflix series, Stranger Things, with the TV show’s logo on the company’s Crazy Crispy Chick’n Nuggets package. The campaign went viral on social media and was Walmart’s #1-selling plant-based item throughout June 2022. Skinny Butcher then entered Midwest and Northern California Costco locations, and expanded regionally in thousands of Safeway, Albertsons, Gelson’s, and H-E-B supermarkets.
The company’s alternative chicken lineup originated when Aronson adopted a vegan diet after being diagnosed with cancer in 2018, the same time that plant-based food offerings began gaining in popularity. Skinny Butcher is the first to use a vegetable fiber strain Aronson discovered in Italy combined with pea protein (the industry gold standard), a proprietary spice blend, and a special double breading method, giving Skinny Butcher the only “Crazy Crispy” crunch in this entire category. The products do not contain soy or palm oil.
The company is striving for a skinnier carbon footprint with its’ breakthrough plant-based products. The sustainability factor compared to real chicken boasts 96% less water and 97% less land usage as well as 86% less greenhouse gas emissions.
According to a Midwest broker for Costco, Skinny Butcher is “the best plant-based chicken item featured to date.” The company’s eight-count, two-pound box of Crazy Crispy Chick’n Breasts at Costco retails for $13.99. The suggested retail price for Skinny Butcher Crazy Crispy Chick’n Nuggets, Tenders, Patties, and Breasts packages in conventional retail stores is $5.99.
For more information about Skinny Butcher and its sustainable, plant-powered protein products, visit skinnybutcher.com.
