Dairy-Free Dessert Hummus Wins Big in the Shark Tank

This week in our dairy-free Friday Bites, investors see potential in the dairy-free industry with dessert hummus. Plus, McDonald’s dabbles in the vegan market while a new app dives deeper into vegan alternatives.

Dairy-Free Dessert Hummus Wins Big in the Shark Tank

Makenzie Marzluff, founder of Delighted by Hummus, dove into the Shark Tank and emerged with a $600,000 deal from Mark Cuban. All of the sharks agreed that the dips were delicious, but there was some speculation on marketing since it doesn’t directly compete with hummus. Nevertheless, with approximately $1 million in sales in just 13 months, Marzluff managed to coax a deal out of Cuban.

All Delighted by Hummus flavors are dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan, and include vanilla bean, snickerdoodle, choc-o-mint and brownie batter. Like traditional hummus, they are made from a base of chickpeas. But that is where the similarities end. Marzluff uses coconut oil instead of olive oil and coconut milk instead of tahini (one version also contains tahini) for a creamier finish. They also contain coconut sugar or raw turbinado sugar for sweetness.

McDonald’s Test Markets the McVegan, with a Catch

McDonald’s is teasing vegans and dairy-free consumers with a a temporary new addition to its burger lineup: The McVegan. It is available now through November 21st, but you’ll need to fly to Finland for a taste. The corporate giant says that the soy-based patty with all of the vegan fixings is only available at a McDonald’s in Tampere, Finland for the test release.

A McDonald’s representative told TODAY that “the McVegan is limited to McDonald’s Finland and there are no current plans for that to change.” Nonetheless, many people are taking to social media to urge McDonald’s to bring the McVegan to North America.

Gonutss Launches a Vegan Translator App

What is a vegan translator? According to gonutss, you can just search for non-vegan food, recipes and ingredients and discover vegan alternatives. In the app you’ll also find the Veganpedia, which is a a raw materials resource, a baking calculator to help replace eggs in baking, and a protein calculator for those post-workout protein. The app is available for free on iTunes and Google Play.