Derek Sarno has announced that he will leave his position as director of plant-based innovation at UK supermarket chain Tesco.
Sarno, who co-founded the wildly successful brand Wicked Kitchen, has been in the position for six years. During this time, he oversaw the development of both Wicked — which initially launched exclusively at Tesco in 2018 — and the retailer’s more affordable brand, Plant Chef. The launches make Tesco one of the first supermarkets to have its own line of plant-based products
The Plant Chef range now includes more than 180 products and Wicked Kitchen continues to expand — including internationally. Sarno helped Tesco become the first UK supermarket to stock alt meat products in the conventional meat aisle and led a commitment to increase plant-based sales by 300% by 2025.
Vegetable-led alternatives
Following Sarno’s departure, Tesco’s product director Braize Donaghy will lead the development and innovation of plant-based foods. Under his leadership, the chain will introduce more “veg-led” products, including miso edamame burgers and ready-to-cook vegetable tray bakes.
Tesco said it is also planning new seasonal plant-based offerings, as well as trialling the use of locally grown fava beans instead of soy or pea protein in some plant-based products.
“Derek has helped us create a compelling customer proposition across the range, and we’re incredibly excited about what the next phase of our plant-based journey will bring,” said Donaghy. “We know making healthy eating easy and accessible is key to delivering for our customers. As we evolve our offering this year, we’ll be expanding our range of ‘veg-led’ options, introducing some delicious new products to help customers include more vegetables in their diets whether they’re vegetarian, vegan or simply looking to cut back on meat. They eat.”