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= Unreal Deli = Unreal Deli (aka Mrs. Goldfarb's Unreal Deli) is a Los Angeles-based producer of premium plant-based deli meat substitutes founded in 2019 by Jenny Goldfarb. The company launched its first product, vegan corned beef, at Whole Foods Markets in the Southern Pacific region in 2019 in a pre-made sandwich that quickly became a top-seller in the supermarket’s grab-and-go section. The company offers multiple options in the plant-based lunch meat category: Corn'd Beef, Roasted Turk'y, and Steak Slices. As of December 2021, following their launch into Publix, Unreal Deli products are available in over 2,200 retail and foodservice outlets throughout the 48 contiguous states, Canada, and even a food service location in South Africa, with major international distribution soon to come.

Founding
The company was founded by Jenny Goldfarb in 2019 with the mission of making vegan versions of the classic New York-style deli meats she grew up eating, while saving animals, the earth, and helping everyone eat healthier and more delicious food along the way. Goldfarb’s great-grandpa, Morris Gross, immigrated from Romania in 1907 and started his work as a dishwasher, ultimately coming to own and operate several delis in NYC. Growing up with over 100 years of family deli history, these were the flavors she missed the most once she made the choice to become vegan.

Financing
Goldfarb initially started making the early versions of what became Unreal Corn'd Beef in her tiny home kitchen, pregnant with her third child, and shopping it around to local landmark delis in Los Angeles like Canter’s, Factor's, Izzy’s, and Art’s, as well as the Fox and Netflix studio lots, where she earned permanent menu placement. This got the attention of Whole Foods Markets, landing her in 58 stores in the Pacific Northwest, which in turn got the attention of Shark Tank, where she received more than double the investment she was asking for from Mark Cuban, nearly unheard of on the show. Goldfarb pitched Cuban with only $10,000 in revenue and in just over half a year, they reached over $300,000 in sales.

Pandemic Pivot
After receiving $250,000 in funding from Cuban, Unreal Deli was thriving, that is until the COVID-19 Pandemic hit the shores of the US. At the time, the company was focused on foodservice, an industry that was hit hardest by the lockdowns. With sales plummeting, they went deep into research and development and made the decision to pivot into retail while bringing their second product to market: Roasted Turk'y.

Manufacturing & Distribution
Unreal Deli currently operates two manufacturing facilities in the Los Angeles area, with an industrial kitchen in Atlanta slated to be up and running by the end of 2022 and another in Chicago to follow in 2023, resulting in a seven-fold increase of the company's manufacturing space. The products are distributed across three main channels: Grocery Stores, Foodservice, and DTC.

Retail
Initially focused on foodservice, the pivot into grocery stores proved to be a benchmark shift for the financial growth of the company. What started in 58 Whole Foods stores, quickly grew to over 1,000 retail locations in 2020 through deals with H-E-B, Giant Food, ShopRite, Stater Bros, Ralphs, Fresh Thyme, Woodman's, Wegmans, and others.

This number more than doubled with their launch into Publix stores across the Southeast in 2021.

The company is slated to continue this trajectory in 2022 reaching over 3,700 grocery store locations globally through deals already in motion.

Foodservice
In 2019, Quiznos debuted an Unreal Deli vegan corned beef sandwich for a limited time in its Denver-area locations and the test run did so well, they expanded the offering into 16 Seattle locations in 2020. That same year, Unreal Corn'd Beef launched in Veggie Grill locations nationwide and Mendocino Farms followed suit with The Mrs. Goldfarb's Unreal Reuben.

In September 2021, the company contracted with acelerate.io, operators of thousands of ghost kitchens across the country, to premiere the first-of-its-kind 100% vegan deli sub sandwich delivery throughout the greater New York areas. The sandwiches are available to order directly from popular delivery apps including DoorDash, GrubHub, UberEats, Seamless, Postmates, and Caviar. Five new cities are set to open in 2022.

In 2022, the company will be launching across the 374-location chain, Which ‘Wich? and will begin servicing Aramark-Avendra, which provides food services to 89% of the Fortune 500 annually, including 500 million student meals, 2000 healthcare facilities, and 100 million sports fans.

Products
The company currently produces three plant-based deli slices: Corn’d Beef, Roasted Turk’y, and Steak Slices. All made with only "ingredients you can pronounce," the whole vegetables are reduced into a slurry, “like a smoothie,” and then mixed with grains and baked in an oven. The slices are sold in retail packs, foodservice sliced packs, and unsliced slabs. Unreal Deli meats are complete proteins, which means a range of vitamins & nutrients in each serving, featuring their own unique vegetables and proteins. Their products are always 100% plant-based, kosher, animal-free, cholesterol-free, nitrate-free, low-fat, low-carb, and protein packed (14-16g per serving).

Corn'd Beef
The company's first product, Unreal Corn'd Beef, was launched in 2019 and was designed to emulate classic deli corned beef, sold freshly refrigerated or frozen.

Ingredients
Made with wholesome ingredients like beets, tomatoes, and chickpeas, each slice is packed with tons of vitamins and minerals in addition to 14g of protein per serving.

Roasted Turk'y
The second item in the company's lineup, premiering in the heart of COVID-era 2020, it has taken its place alongside Unreal Corn'd Beef as a staple item on both retail shelves and restaurant menus nationwide.

Ingredients
Whole cannellini beans are blended with chickpeas and a proprietary spice blend ensuring every slice is filled with tons of vitamins and minerals in addition to 16g of protein per serving.

Steak Slices
The company's newest - and "meatiest and juiciest" - offering and Mark Cuban's current favorite, these slices have only hit select retailers with more to come in 2022.

Ingredients
Crafted from shiitake mushrooms, black rice, and lentils, every slice boasts a slew of vitamins and minerals in addition to 15g of protein per serving.

Recognition
In 2021, Thrillist voted Unreal Deli the #1 Best Plant-Based Meat From Fast Food Chains - over Impossible and Beyond. That same year, their Corn'd Beef was ranked as the #1 Best-Selling Meatless Deli Meat on Amazon and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals listed their products as some of their favorite vegan deli slices.