Tender Food

Come join us! We're looking for a Process Engineering Lead to define, develop, and scale Tender’s technology and products to commercial scale. Are you a good fit? https://lnkd.in/evT4Hc4b

Tender is #hiring! We are looking for a driven, scrappy Foodservice Sales Manager to join our team and get their hands dirty while leading the charge to expand our sales footprint across all segments in the Boston area and beyond. Want to join in on the action? https://lnkd.in/ezfd68yD

Hello, Series A! It's been quite a year for the market and the alt protein industry, but we're still wholeheartedly working towards a future of less factory farming and more sustainable, accessible, delicious alternatives. We've been scaling our unique technologies for whole-cut plant-based meat texture, partnering with more local restaurants to eat Tender™, including Clover Food Lab, and building even bigger ways to make a change in our commercial food systems. We can't wait for what's to come. Thank you to our incredible Tender team for making our goals a reality! Thank you Rhapsody Venture Partners for leading this round; Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital, Safar Partners, and new investors Claridge Ventures and Nor'easter Ventures for supporting us; Mike Messersmith, formerly Oatly, for joining our board; and Christine Hall of TechCrunch for covering us. https://lnkd.in/eE2vPC9f

"About a year and a half ago, at an open-to-the-public food development meeting at Clover Food Lab, we blind taste-tested a new plant-based pulled pork...we tend to get a lot of samples of plant-based everything...One bite in, and it was clear this pulled pork was special. It was smoky and succulent, with just the right mix of textures, including those delectable crunchy bits you get from perfect caramelization. Whoa. Even the carnivores among us were going back for seconds, thirds, and fourths... We discovered these plant-based meats were made right down the street by a company called Tender...We’ve been testing them out at a few restaurants for the last few months, and the reaction has been amazing...Tender is finally available at all locations!" - Kiernan Schmitt, CMO of Clover Food Lab   What a journey! After successful trials, we’re ecstatic to announce that you can now eat Tender™ plant-based chicken and pork at all 11 Clover restaurants throughout the Boston metro area. The best part is thinking about how many new families, students, and communities we'll get to feed as far as Burlington, Newton, and downtown from our roots in Somerville. It's an exciting and important time to eat local and with care for the planet. We're proud to join forces with Clover to share even more dream-worthy meals to your table. Come give the powered-up bowls a try and have a picnic outside!

There's going to be a lot of kibitz at the new Mamaleh's Kibitz Corner from Big Dipper Hospitality Group ! Featuring rotating lunch pop-ups, events, and a test kitchen space, Kendall Square is about to get even more fun. We're pumped to be part of their inaugural pop-up, Vegan Mamaleh's! Enjoy classic delicatessen favorites, made from plants: matzah ball soup, Reubens and Rachels, and a Tender™ chicken schnitzel sandwich on challah, with zhoug mayo and half-sour pickles.

Montreal: home of Schwartz' smoked meat, uniquely chewy bagels, and our inspiring co-founder and CSO, Luke Macqueen. Thank you Lindsay Brownell for capturing his decade-plus journey of wondering how we can feed the planet without harming animals, from a hopeful Wyss Institute at Harvard University symposium demonstrating muscle engineering to the early days of meeting future co-founders Christophe Chantre, Grant Gonzalez, and Kit Parker. We're living by his words: “If we can make plant-based meat so delicious and affordable that people want to eat it more than they want to eat chicken or beef, then we’ll know we’ve really done something good for the world.” https://lnkd.in/dZKxNxjp

In collaboration with our first-ever university partner Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, we're bringing students valuable exposure to climatetech solutions that incorporate cutting-edge technology and engineering. It's pretty tasty--read more about our win-win here! https://lnkd.in/eYjR5WWU Last year, we sampled our plant-based pork at Olin College, and 97% of surveyed students wanted to see our options again. Olin has been serving Tender™ Shredded Pork, Chicken Breast, and Crab Meat in their Meatless Tuesday menus for the past two semesters. Their Earth Day Celebration included our new Beef Short Rib in a Tender taco bowl lunch special (thanks, Chef Sam, Angel, and crew)! What better way to talk about GHG emissions from beef production than with sustainable meals and beautiful succulents?

Last week, we had the honor of welcoming Secretary of Economic Development Yvonne Hao and our friends from Food Solutions Action to Tender HQ. The visit included a tasting of Tender products – our plant-based pork bao buns quickly vanished! – and productive discussions about how Massachusetts and Tender can collaborate to advance our shared goals in combating climate change. With Governor Healey's announcement of a $1 billion, 10-year climate tech initiative, we're optimistic about the impact this and other proposals will have on our industry and we're excited to support the administration in furthering Massachusetts leadership in #climatetech. Proud to be a part of #TeamMA.

Clover Food Lab was founded in 2008 because they believed reducing meat consumption was needed to reverse global warming. There's a special air in this city. We deeply care about our world; ready to build and rebuild it better. Our city gave root for efforts like Clover to start growing 15 years ago. Today, we're proud to be part of Clover's mission. Your meal can be chock full of delicious, local produce and, newly, our locally-produced plant-based meat. Find our planet-friendly pulled pork and chicken in fragrant, bright Verde, Mediterranean, and Winter Caesar bowls at Clover Longwood, Kendall, and Harvard Science Center--the place, funnily enough, where our own tender roots began. What a small, beautiful world!

This week was the debut of Chef Chin's "best creation to date" at Saus Bow Market: the Somerville Dip! We're proud to introduce our plant-based beef short rib to the world, in this sandwich that has the heart and soul of our city. Tender™ beef is charred, comforting, and planet-friendly. We make it just down the street from Saus. Served on fresh Central Bakery bread, topped with caramelized onions + your cheese of choice, paired with a warming jus--our short rib is just one reason why eating local here is so exciting. Give it a try the next time you're around!