30 Years of Vegan Goodies At the forefront of the plant-based movement for decades, Fry Family Food Co. is celebrating its 30th birthday this year. Tammy Fry is the marketing director at global plantbased brand The Fry Family Food Co and marketing & communications director for the LIVEKINDLY Co. “When I first went veggie then vegan Frys Vegetarian was (and still is) a go to fully vegan brand – and I was delighted to work with the UK team headed by Pat and Lisa Drummy to promote the products in the UK nearly 20 years ago. I was delighted to be one of the first people to try their vegan fish at a media event a few years ago – they went down incredibly well with everyone there! Tammy’s father, Wally Fry, grew up as a meat lover, making meaty ingredients a part of his dayto-day life. Her mother, Debbie, on the other hand, was a long-time vegetarian. After Wally decided to join Debbie and Tammy in embracing vegetarianism, he started creating tasty high-protein meat replacements for himself and his family – a year later the Fry Family Food Co. was born.
126 I Plant Powered Planet
Beginning as a small family business in South Africa, Fry Family Food Co. has since grown to become a global company.” - Karin Ridgers, Plant Powered Planet Editor. The Fry’s Story We have been on such a journey with Fry’s over the last 30-years. There are so many memorable moments that, in hindsight, helped us define who we are. I think some of the most memorable landmarks would be when we sold our first products to the general public (nearly 30 years ago). Up to that point we’d only been feeding friends and family with our sausages and Chicken-Style burgers, so it was quite extraordinary that people outside of our circle were responding to the products. The first time we imported to another country was
very significant for us, and it was the UK - our first international market. And of course, signing our deal with the LIVEKINDLY Collective, which is helping us take the Fry’s brand to new markets, was a hugely exciting time. There have been many milestones in between those – winning some wonderful awards, creating some ground-breaking products and more – but those three are real cornerstones for us. Exciting things are happening at the moment with Fry’s globally, and the biggest growth for the company is in the USA and Africa. in the USA, we are starting from a zero base, and are experiencing unprecedented growth. South Africa is our home base, and we have significant brand equity and brand awareness here, so our growth here comes from new consumers being introduced to the category.
