Fast-Growing Irish Start-Up Brings Innovation to the Freezer With Tasty Modern Plant-Based Food for Today's Busy Lives

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Feb. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Say hello to a new face coming to the frozen food aisle in the U.S.: Strong Roots, an innovative and award-winning line of premium root vegetables, veggie burgers and bites founded in Dublin, Ireland. The company is experiencing exponential growth and smashing sales records at home and in the U.K, with more than 500 percent sales growth year over year. With bold and simple packaging, its products stand out in the crowded grocery store freezer. It is a modern brand disrupting the category.

Strong Roots addresses fast-rising demand for healthy foods that are plant-based, flavorful and easy to prepare at a time when consumers are trading up to better quality ingredients, convenience, and tastier options to help them live a flexitarian and increasingly, vegan lifestyle. 

The company is making its U.S. debut next month at Expo West in Anaheim, Calif., in booth 1087, with a line-up of its best-selling products including Mixed Root Vegetable Fries--a vibrant mix of beets, carrots and parsnips, Kale & Quinoa Burgers, and Cauliflower Hash Browns.

Strong Roots was founded in 2015 by entrepreneur Samuel Dennigan, 33, who has deep family roots in the produce business. Strong Roots products are now available in 4,000 supermarkets in Ireland and the U.K., with sales climbing from zero to €20 million totaled over a three-year period. Dennigan attributes the success to a keen focus on consumer needs.

"Young consumers are savvier and more curious about food than ever before but have had few appealing options in the freezer. Strong Roots brings a better experience-a delight to come home to on a busy weeknight for a meal or a tasty everyday snack. We inspire today's healthy eaters to be spontaneous and creative by offering flavorful foods they can mix and match with minimal prep. We like to think of Strong Roots as their 'plant-based friend,'" Dennigan says.

"We are a purpose-driven company. Our foods are smart and sustainable, avoid spoilage, and have recyclable packaging. We want to help change lives for the better."

Strong Roots is entering the U.S. with eight of its top-selling products. All are verified Vegan and Non-GMO. The Root Vegetables are gluten free and all are made with no artificial flavors or trans fats. The line will be available in late spring in natural and specialty food stores and major supermarkets via natural products distributors KeHE and UNFI, and others.

Products coming to U.S. stores include:

Mixed Root Vegetable Fries
A crispy, vibrant selection of beetroot, carrot and parsnip. SRP $4.99-5.49, 15 oz. bag. Gluten Free.
Beetroot Wedges
Lightly dipped in rice flour batter, ready to oven bake and add color to every plate. SRP $4.99-5.49, 15 oz. bag. Gluten Free.
Spinach Bites
In a crisp, carrot and vegetable crumb, perfect to share, dip or as a side. SRP $4.99-5.49, 13.3 oz. bag.
Cauliflower Hash Browns
A crisp cauliflower hash brown perfect to share, for breakfast or as a side. SRP $4.99-5.49, 13.3 oz. bag.
Broccoli & Purple Carrot Bites
A crisp broccoli bite coated in a purple carrot crumb. Perfect to share, dip or as a side. SRP $4.99-5.49, 13.3 oz. bag.
Kale & Quinoa Burger
A blend of quinoa, kale and mixed vegetables with a puffed quinoa coating. SRP $4.49-$4.99, four per box.
Pumpkin & Spinach Burger
Pumpkin, mixed vegetables and a puffed quinoa coating combined in a delicious vegetable patty. SRP $4.49-$4.99, four per box.
Beetroot & Bean Burger
Kidney beans, beetroot and bulgur wheat, perfectly seasoned and full of flavor. Coated in beetroot crumbs. SRP $4.49-$4.99, four per box.

The U.S. expansion comes as frozen food sales are starting to heat up after a five-year slump, according to Nielsen. Once shunned as inferior to fresh produce, today's frozen foods are gaining converts among food lovers. The Wall Street Journal declared just this month that serious cooks are "revisiting the coolest aisle and hacking into the freezer's potential." Strong Roots is also tapping into fast-rising demand for plant-based foods.  Sales of plant-based foods jumped 20 percent to $3.3 billion compared with the prior year, according to a July 2018 report from the Plant Based Foods Association. 

About Strong Roots
Strong Roots was founded in 2015 by Samuel Dennigan, an Irish entrepreneur who spent a decade working for his family's fresh produce distribution business and saw an opportunity to bring next-generation innovation to what he considers the sleepy frozen food market. After a strong start in Ireland with one product, Sweet Potato Fries, Dennigan, 33, has expanded distribution across the U.K. to major retailers like Whole Foods, Waitrose, Tesco and Harrod's department store and to 10 other markets including Iceland and Singapore. The line now has eight innovative flavors of frozen root vegetable fries, veggie burgers and bites, developed by forging relationships with growers across Europe and in the U.S., providing top-quality, sustainably grown produce and innovative recipes.

Strong Roots has won several industry awards including four Great Taste Awards and three New Product Awards from The Grocer. In 2017 Dennigan was a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Food and Drink in Ireland and won the Start-Up Award in Ireland's Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) competition. The company is a finalist for a coveted NEXTY Award from Natural Products Expo West. Winners will be announced in March 2019. Strong Roots is a member of the Plant Based Foods Association. Its U.S. subsidiary is based in Brooklyn, N.Y.

For Photos, Fact Sheet, Founder Bio and Nutrition Information, click here

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SOURCE Strong Roots