Happy Little Plants® and Fresh Thyme Farmers Market Highlight Plant Protein in Stores

Natural and Organic Food Marketplace Launches Dedicated Plant-Based Protein Section Featuring the Happy Little Plants® Brand

News provided by

Hormel Foods Corporation

Mar 04, 2020, 12:42 ET

AUSTIN, Minn., March 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Happy Little Plants^® brand and Fresh Thyme, a leader in the fresh, natural and organic foods retail space, are helping to fuel the plant-based protein explosion by having a dedicated set in each of Fresh Thyme's 74 locations. The two Midwestern companies are joining forces to help bring plant protein items to consumers across the region.

The Happy Little Plants® brand and Fresh Thyme, a leader in the fresh, natural and organic foods retail space, are helping to fuel the plant-based protein explosion by having a dedicated set in each of Fresh Thyme’s 74 locations.

"We know that people are looking to add more plant-based options to their diets and we're glad to partner with Fresh Thyme to make it easier for people to find it in their stores," said Robbie Koons, Happy Little Plants^®brand manager.

"We've continued to see our customers looking for a simple and convenient way to find the plant-based alternative products and we are excited to be one of the few retailers in our category to offer a dedicated area to locate products like Happy Little Plants^®," said Jason Resner, vice president, Meat & Seafood at Fresh Thyme.

The Happy Little Plants^®brand was introduced by Hormel Foods in 2019 and celebrates the power of plant protein while offering a great tasting solution for people looking to add more plant-based food into their diet.

The first offering for the Happy Little Plants^® brand is its flagship ground product, offering 20 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per serving with no preservatives or cholesterol, is low saturated fat and made with non-genetically modified ingredients that are both gluten free and low calorie. It is low sodium, with no added sugars. The Happy Little Plants^® brand will also be launching new products at Fresh Thyme in the coming months.

Happy Little Plants^®products can be found at all Fresh Thyme Farmers Market locations.

ABOUT THE HAPPY LITTLE PLANTS^® BRAND
The Happy Little Plants^®brand was introduced by Hormel Foods in 2019 and celebrates the power of plant protein while offering a great tasting solution for people looking to add more plant-based food into their diet. The brand's flagship product is a ground plant-based protein alternative containing 20 grams of non-GMO plant protein, is only 180 calories, with no preservatives, no cholesterol and is gluten free. The Happy Little Plants^® brand proudly supports the efforts of the National Young Farmers Coalition to help the next generation of farmers reshaping the country's agriculture systems. For more information about the Happy Little Plants^® brand, please visit https://www.happylittleplants.com/.

ABOUT FRESH THYME
Fresh Thyme Farmers Market is a full-service specialty retailer focusing on value-priced fresh, healthy, natural and organic offerings. It boasts an extensive produce department with organic and local fruits and vegetables, a natural meat department, healthy deli foods to go, hundreds of bulk food bins, dairy and frozen, health supplement products, and its own line of organic and natural private label products. Fresh Thyme has 74 stores in 11 states throughout the Midwest. Learn more at freshthyme.com. Keep in touch by liking us at facebook.com/freshthymefarmersmarket, and following us at twitter.com/freshthymefm.

ABOUT HORMEL FOODS — Inspired People. Inspired Food.™
Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $9 billion in annual revenue across more than 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include SKIPPY^®, SPAM^®, Hormel^® Natural Choice^®, Applegate^®, Justin's^®, Wholly^®, Hormel^® Black Label^®, Columbus^®, Happy Little Plants^®and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named on the "Global 2000 World's Best Employers" list by Forbes magazine for three straight years, is one of Fortune magazine's most admired companies, has appeared on Corporate Responsibility Magazine's "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" list for the 11^th year in a row, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. The company lives by its purpose statement — Inspired People. Inspired Food.™ — to bring some of the world's most trusted and iconic brands to tables across the globe. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com and http://csr.hormelfoods.com/.