TiNDLE Foods Abandons the US to Chase Europe’s Fast-Growing Private-Label Wave

Courtesy: Tindle Foods

Plant-based scale-up TiNDLE Foods is redrawing its roadmap in a decisive shift that will see the company step away from the branded retail race and concentrate entirely on private-label supply for Europe. The move marks a sharp pivot for a startup that only months ago celebrated its largest US retail rollout, with products landing across more than 500 locations in the Kroger family of stores.

The company confirmed it will divest its US operations and focus its energy and resources on supplying unbranded plant-based proteins to major food manufacturers, supermarket chains, and restaurant groups. By stepping out of the branded arena, TiNDLE intends to cut marketing and distribution costs and redirect that capital toward product development, efficiencies across its operations, and long-term stability.

Chief executive and co-founder Timo Recker called the shift “a clear logic”, pointing to a plant-based category increasingly shaped by price competition and the rapid rise of supermarket-owned alternatives. Private label has become one of the most resilient pockets of growth in Europe, where retailers have doubled down on affordable, sustainable options as shoppers navigate persistent cost-of-living pressures. TiNDLE’s strategy now leans fully into that momentum.

The company’s repositioning comes at a moment when the US plant-based meat market is facing persistent headwinds. Sales have slipped, prices continue to outpace those of conventional meat, and consumer skepticism around ultra-processed foods has accelerated a broader shift in purchasing habits. Even legacy players have been forced to rethink their positioning: Beyond Meat has diversified away from a pure meat-mimic strategy, Meati Foods recently changed ownership after months of financial uncertainty, and long-standing names like Yves Veggie Cuisine have disappeared altogether. Against this backdrop, TiNDLE’s decision to step back from the US appears less a retreat than a strategic correction designed to meet the market where growth is actually happening.

Europe tells a different story. Innovation in private-label plant-based lines has made vegan baskets cheaper than their animal-protein equivalents in several markets. In Germany, Lidl’s decision to introduce price parity for its Vemondo range resulted in a 30% surge in sales, an early signal of how affordability can unlock demand at scale. For TiNDLE, supplying the companies behind these offerings places the startup at the centre of a value chain that is expanding even as other regions contract.

TiNDLE’s product line, built around non-GMO and clean-label ingredients, has long been engineered for broad adoption, with boneless wings, nuggets, tenders, and stuffed chicken products helping the company establish footholds in Asia, Europe, and North America. Its evolution from Next Gen Foods to TiNDLE Foods, supported by more than $130 million in funding, positioned it as one of the most visible young brands in the global alt-protein landscape. But the economics of the US market, expensive brand-building, high consumer acquisition costs, and slower category momentum, ultimately pushed the company toward a more measured strategy.

Recker, who returned to the CEO role in late 2023, said retailers and foodservice operators are increasingly looking for turnkey plant-based solutions without the overhead of building their own R&D pipelines. TiNDLE’s pivot is designed to meet that need directly, offering adaptable, ready-to-market components that retailers can brand and price based on local consumer behaviour.

“The plant-based category has become increasingly price-driven, and private label is capturing a growing share. We’re well positioned to lead this shift by offering innovative products while keeping value and accessibility front and centre.” Timo Recker, CEO, TiNDLE Foods

The focus on Europe is also grounded in demographic trends. Younger consumers across the region continue to adopt plant-based options as part of their daily routines, supporting a baseline of demand that is more stable, and in some cases growing, despite wider market volatility. For TiNDLE, the opportunity lies not in competing for shelf space with legacy meat-free brands, but in enabling the supermarket-owned lines that are quietly shaping the next phase of the category.

The company now enters a new chapter defined less by brand identity and more by industrial capability. By moving behind the scenes and supplying the private-label ecosystem, TiNDLE is betting that the future of plant-based will be built on affordability, scalability, and flexibility, qualities increasingly prized by manufacturers and retailers alike. Its withdrawal from the US may read as a contraction, but the repositioning suggests a more disciplined interpretation: a willingness to follow demand, anchor itself in resilient markets, and back the idea that the next phase of plant-based growth belongs to those who help others bring products to the shelf, rather than those fighting to stand out on it.