I just wanted to share an interesting article I wrote for the Independent Florida Alligator last year, where Seth Tibbott, president of Turtle Island foods (makers of Tofurkey) discusses the drastic rise in sales of meat-substitute Thanksgiving items. Here’s an excerpt:
Many households may be doing without one of Thanksgiving’s traditions this year, and it’s not the cranberry sauce.
More households are substituting meat with a vegetarian option or providing fake turkeys for their guests who do not eat meat. Natural food stores and grocery stores in Gainesville are carrying these vegetarian options for Thanksgiving.
Seth Tibbott, the president of Turtle Island Foods Inc., the company that manufactures the Tofurky, said that he has seen a rapid increase in Tofurky sales every year since 1995.
The company, Tibbott said, is up 10 percent this year in shipments. In 1995, they sold 500 Tofurkys. That number jumped to 340,000 in 2009.
“The southeast has always been a strong region for us,” he said. “Publix, in particular, is a big customer.”
“This is the busiest time of the year for us,” said Heather Lindseth of Turtle Island Foods.
She said all natural food stores and many grocery stores will be carrying the Tofurky Feast and the Tofurky Roast and can usually be found in the produce department.
Read the fill article here.
