Tofurky carves out Thanksgiving niche

WASHINGTON — Seth Tibbott was just an ordinary hippie living in a treehouse when inspiration struck.

The year was 1986, and Tibbott had spent the past six years hoping that his small business selling vegetarian meat alternatives in rural Washington state would catch on. Success proved elusive — the treehouse was the only place he could afford to live — until he developed a soy-based version of the traditional Thanksgiving turkey. He called it Tofurky.

"It's a name that resonates with consumers," said Tibbott, who grew up in Chevy Chase, Md. "We're fine with the fact they think it's funny or they get a smile out of it. You remember jokes."

Tofurky hit store shelves in 1995, and the meatless bird has become a cultural phenomenon, showing up on TV shows such as "Jeopardy" and "The O.C." Tibbott's company, Turtle Island Foods of Hood River, Ore., has annual revenue of $11 million. Tofurky sales have grown 37 percent this year, compared with 2006. Tibbott expects to sell 270,000 Tofurkys by the end of the holiday season, which translates to 438,000 pounds of tofu, wheat protein, canola oil and spices.

The concept was born of Tibbott's vegetarian frustrations. He left for college in Ohio in 1969 and returned home having sworn off meat. Thanksgiving was particularly tough, he said, recalling a nasty bout with a stuffed pumpkin and a rock-hard gluten roast.

"We were looking for something ... and we figured there's probably other people out there," he said.

A 2006 poll by Harris Interactive for the nonprofit Vegetarian Resource Group found that about 2 percent of adults are vegetarian, meaning they do not eat meat, poultry or seafood. The total was up from about 1 percent from a similar study in 1994. The percentage of adults who do not eat poultry in particular grew to 6 percent from 3 percent.

The market, meanwhile, has had increased interest by omnivores who seek alternatives to meat for health reasons. They have helped turn vegetarian foods into a $1.2 billion industry last year, up 44 percent from 2001, consumer-research firm Mintel said. The report found that 23 percent of nonvegetarians eat meat alternatives, although consumers say the products cannot match the real thing.

John Cunningham, consumer-research manager at the Vegetarian Resource Group, which has received donations from Tibbott's company, acknowledged that Tofurky does not taste like turkey. That doesn't mean it doesn't taste good, with a firm texture and a salty, savory flavor; it just tastes different, he said.

"It can take the place of a big piece of meat," he said.

Tibbott started Turtle Island Foods in 1980 with $2,500 in savings and later with investments of $5,000 from his mother and $17,000 from his older brother, Bob. Originally, Tibbott peddled a product, tempeh, made from fermented soybeans. He started making 100 pounds of tempeh after hours in the cafe of a cooperative in Oregon and delivering it to clients in Portland.

Two years later, he moved the shoestring operation to an abandoned elementary school in Husum, Wash., a small logging town in the Cascades about 75 miles east of Portland. The building had no heat, but it was near a scenic river and about a mile from Tibbott's treehouse. It was cheaper than renting an apartment, and he could not afford much else.

Tibbott lived there for seven years before marrying and moving in with his wife, Suzanne, who lived in a more traditional apartment. When Tofurky hit, the treehouse days were gone for good.

Despite the faux-meat industry's rapid growth, mainstream appeal may be limited. Harry Balzer, vice president at consumer-behavior research firm NPD Group, said that less than 1 percent of households will be putting a meat alternative on their table this Thanksgiving. The National Turkey Federation estimates 88 percent of Americans will eat turkey Thursday, adding up to 46 million gobblers.