Evidence ledger

Scan digest, window Aug 1 to 20, 2026

Run Aug 18, 2026. This is the working record behind the Brief and the sample issue.

A. Headline finding: the window is empty of Chunk press

No new Chunk Foods press, trade coverage, or announcement was published between Aug 1 and Aug 20, 2026.

The most recent substantive coverage is July 14, 2026 (Green Queen, updated Jul 19). The company's own Newsroom page is stale: last item March 7, 2025. So the national Whole Foods rollout, the Sprouts listing and the H‑E‑B listing are all live in market with no press push and no owned‑channel record. This is a directive, not an observation, and it leads the Brief.

B. Verified facts, dated and sourced

Founder quotes on the record and available for reuse (all Green Queen, Jul 14, 2026):

"Plant-based meat doesn't have a demand problem. It has a repeat-purchase problem."

"Our job isn't to convince people to eat differently. It's to give them one less reason not to."

"Growth alone is no longer enough. Growth with healthy unit economics is."

"The interesting part is who chose us: some of the largest tech campuses, steakhouses and luxury hotel chains."

C. Category context

• US plant‑based dollar sales fell 2% from 2024 to 2025, totalling $7.9B; plant‑based meat and seafood dollar sales fell 10% in 2025. Over 82 alt‑protein companies shut down or were acquired since Sept 2024. (GFI, Green Queen)
• The shreds, chunks and strips format grew 8% in unit sales and 14% in the natural channel. (GFI)
  Why it matters: the format Chunk sits in is growing while the category it is filed under shrinks. This is the single most useful stat in the scan, and it is the spine of the newsletter's lead story.
• 64% of consumers want plant‑based products with less processing; 2026 shoppers read ingredient lists and ask how things are made. (Innova)
• 55% now think plant‑based food should be its own category rather than only imitate meat or dairy. (Innova)
• Shoppers are turning against heavily processed food, and plant‑based products are being caught in it. Interest in protein from meat is reported to be growing three times faster than in plant‑based. (Vegpreneur)

Read on the whole section: every one of these numbers supports the natural story Chunk wants to tell and has not told. An 8‑ingredient fermented whole cut is the direct answer to the 64% number. Nobody is saying it.

D. People who posted about Chunk on their own

Ranked by value. None were paid, and that is the kind of post the July figures say does best.

1. @farmer_nick (TikTok), reviewed Chunk at Planta. Says outright: "This was NOT a paid post btw. Chunk asked if I would go try their stuff at Planta and since I was already a fan." And: "the texture and flavors were super realistic... the non vegans at our dinner loved it too." He has a large following well beyond vegans, he already likes the product, and he was not paid. The single best person to write back to in this scan. Published Dec 3, 2024, so an older post, worth reopening, not news. Post ↗
2. An Instagram review reel, "plant based steak honest review". Nobody asked for it, and it led on the protein count. The publication date was not available, so check it before acting. Reel ↗
3. @yungfoodbeast / Book of Elie, trying "the 8‑ingredient plant‑based steak" at Natural Foods Expo, roughly 2.2K likes. The creator opened with the ingredient count without being prompted. Published Mar 9, 2025, so an older post, worth reopening, not news. Post ↗
4. @marvelous.marketing, at Kindred in San Diego, "Steak House Sundays", posted by the restaurant. The link and publication date could not be confirmed, so check it before acting. Profile ↗
5. Names carried over from the discovery meeting, not re‑checked in this window: @sunnispeaksvegan (72.2K views on July's best post, which nobody asked for), @lifewithgill_, and the Nibbletown / LA vendor network.

E. Retail and commerce surface check

• The direct online store is live: shopusa.chunkfoods.com. This is where a newsletter should send people to buy.
• Instacart carries 4 Chunk SKUs, same‑day, including Steak 2ct and Steakhouse Cut 6oz. See it on Instacart ↗. A newsletter can send straight to a fulfilable cart. Nothing currently does.
• Product line per chunkfoods.com: Chunk Steak, Slab, Pulled, Steakhouse Cut, Barbacoa Pulled, Teriyaki Pulled, Korean BBQ Pulled, Texas BBQ Pulled. Over 18 recipes on site.

F. False dates caught and discarded

Kept in the record deliberately. Catching these is the point of the scan.

1. The Sigma Alimentos "August 14, 2026" story is false as news. A search summary presented the Sigma investment as four days old. The primary source is just‑food, January 29, 2024: a $7.5M seed extension bringing the seed to $22M. Sigma is a 2024 partnership, already known. Had this entered the issue as news, it would have been wrong by two and a half years.
2. The Robert Downey Jr. / Charley's Steak House story is from August 2023, not current. An evergreen asset, not news. The $69 "F U Filet Mignon" menu listing is real and still a great story, saved for an issue that needs it.

G. Channels this scan could not reach

• Reddit: blocked to this crawler at the domain level. Zero threads retrieved from r/vegan, r/PlantBasedDiet or r/veganfoodporn. The production engine uses the Reddit API; this scan could not.
• Facebook groups (Fat Ass Vegans, Vegan Bodybuilders): not crawlable. One public post surfaced via search but could not be opened or dated.
• Instagram and TikTok native metrics: post URLs are retrievable, view, save and share counts are not.