During the global lockdown of 2020, many people found themselves with unexpected time in their busy lives to pursue dreams and aspirations they had previously put aside. For Satvinder Bains, it was the perfect moment to fulfill her lifelong dream of sharing the cherished family recipes she grew up with in a new way.
Shikken
“I’ve been a vegetarian for over 30 years and transitioned to a plant-based diet in the past five years,” Baines told VegNews. “I have raised my two children on a vegetarian diet since they were born, and it has been my lifelong dream to share the family recipes I created with my mother and grandmother with families around the world. ”
Lockdown gave her a unique opportunity to work on this project with her husband, children and parents, turning her kitchen into the birthplace of Shikken. Initially, we sold directly to consumers across the UK.
Turning a family recipe into a global chicken brand
Family is not just part of Shicken’s story, it is central to its operations and values. The company offers a variety of ready-to-heat curries and meat-filled plant-based chicken kebabs made with recipes passed down through generations.
“Our first and biggest challenge was creating an award-winning Sikken product to replicate the texture, taste and flavor of real chicken,” Baines said. The company has achieved this through its Whole Muscle technology, which mimics chicken muscle fibers but is completely plant-based, allowing it to offer a product that is indistinguishable from real chicken.
Shikken
This chewy vegan chicken continues a family tradition. The classic North Indian butter curry is a shikken-style take on chicken marinated in vegan yogurt, seasoned with tikka and tandoori spices, then seared over live heat and simmered in a butter curry sauce.
For spice lovers, there are Jalfrezi, Madras and Balinese curries, as well as mild but flavorful korma, tikka masala and rogan josh, all made with the company’s vegan chicken.
Baines developed these products with her mother’s advice in mind: “Everything you serve should be made with love.”
“I didn’t understand what she meant at the time, but in later years I realized that what she was trying to say was that we shouldn’t cook a dish in a hurry, but rather make each dish with love, passion, and time.” I realized that it meant creating something,” she says.
“A great Indian curry is ready in hours, not minutes, because the onions are sautéed until golden brown, the tomatoes are simmered until sweet, the Indian spices are sautéed and ground, and the curry is simmered until fragrant. ” he says. “A great traditional curry has built-in flavor and there’s no need to rush the cooking process.”
Transforming the poultry industry across generations
The traditional poultry industry faces increasingly environmental challenges that cannot be ignored. Production relies heavily on feed made primarily from corn and soybeans and requires large amounts of water resources.
For example, it takes about 1.82 pounds of feed to produce just 1 pound of chicken. The cultivation of these feed crops is also the industry’s largest source of water consumption.
Additionally, environmental impacts extend to changes in land use, such as deforestation to grow soybeans in South America and South Asia. Furthermore, raising chickens for meat is primarily done in factory farms, which poses significant ethical, environmental, and public health concerns.
Shikken
Together with Sikken, Baines wants to change the way people eat and think about food, especially in terms of sustainability and animal welfare.
To support her goals, Shicken recently secured a significant investment of $5.3 million from VegCapital, bringing the company’s total investment in Shicken to $7.9 million. The funding is designed to strengthen Shicken’s manufacturing capabilities and accelerate its expansion within the U.S. and internationally.
Shikken
This is a pivotal time for Sikken, which has successfully launched in 410 Sprouts Farmers Market stores nationwide, becoming one of the first Asian brands in its category to enter mainstream retail in the United States. .
As Sikken continues to grow with recent investments and expansion into new markets, Bain’s remains focused on its core mission of delivering traditional flavors while fostering a sustainable future.
“Sikken is unique within the plant-based industry; most brands operating in this space are looking for a quick win and a quick exit,” she says.
“The Sikken Strategy is generational and we want to have a long-term impact in eliminating animals from the food system and providing healthier and more environmentally friendly Asian food, kebabs and snacks to consumers around the world. “I think so,” Baines said. “We want to pass on the work we started to our children so that Sikken can impact the lives of future generations,” she says.
Read below for the latest plant-based news.
Anna Starostinetskaya is a senior news editor at VegNews, where she keeps up to date with all things vegan in her hometown of San Francisco, California, and beyond.
