Startup Good Dot develops vegetarian meat, chicken products

Plant-based protein products company Good Dot, based in Udaipur, Rajasthan, has launched India's first plant-based meat and chicken as an alternative to traditional mutton – the second most consumed meat in the country.

Good Dot has built on the global plant-based protein trend to develop and manufacture products that fit India's unique market and evolving taste for meat.

''The stereotype of India as a vegetarian country is increasingly being proved wrong,'' says co-founder and CEO of Good Dot India, Abhishek Sinha, who quit a secure government job as a deputy commissioner of Income Tax to start this venture. ''Upwards of 70 per cent of people do eat meat, and India has the opportunity to take a better path than the West when it comes to meeting our country's growing demand for meat.''

The company hopes to avoid the problems with animal meats that plague the West – including wasted resources, animal cruelty, pollution, climate change issues related to cattle breeding, and threats to health cholesterol obesity, etc - through its plant-based meat tastes.

The products resemble actual animal meat and chicken in taste, texture and protein content. The product is sold at a similar price to normal meats.

While, the protein content per gram is marginally lower at 22 per gram, compared to 25 per gram in animal meat, it is a zero cholesterol product, unlike animal meats. Its fat content is substantially lower at 14 per gram compared to 21 per gram in animal meat. Moreover, it is a far richer source of calcium, providing 649 mg, while animal meat offers only 17 mg.

Being plant-based, the spoilage rate of the product is low compared to normal meat and therefore, it does not require refrigeration during transport. According to the company, Good Dot vegetarian meat is now available in 7,500 stores and can be delivered by over 1.2 million distributors across India. The products can also be ordered via its Facebook page, the company says.

''The younger generations and growing middle class are pushing India away from its roots as a vegetarian country,'' says Deepak Parihad, another co-founder and CFO, and a serial entrepreneur. ''By developing a healthier product that provides the taste and texture of meat, for the same price, we can reverse the trend towards non-veg foods.''

''This is by far the hottest area of food tech in the US,'' notes entrepreneur turned social activist Stephanie Downs, the only American co-founder and CEO of Good Dot Global, citing involvement of tech pioneers like Microsoft creator Bill Gates and Google founder Sergey Brin, celebrities from Leonardo DiCaprio to Sir Richard Branson, and even traditional meat producers, such as Tyson and Cargill. ''The future demands a smarter way to feed the world,'' she says, ''and Good Dot is leading the way with a quality meat replacement that anyone can afford.''

How did the founders get together? A sheer chance encounter enabled complete strangers on opposite sides of the planet to connect because of a shared passion to reduce animal suffering during the pre-slaughter and slaughter stages by bringing vegetarian meat- and chicken-tasting products to the market.