Simulate (company)

American food technology company

SIMULATE

Formerly| NUGGS LABS, INC [1]
Company type| Privately held company
Industry| Food technology
Founded| 2018
Founders| Ben Pasternak
Sam Terris
Headquarters|

New York City, United States

Website| simulate.com
NUGGS with ketchup

SIMULATE (formerly known as NUGGS) is a food technology company headquartered in SoHo, Manhattan which manufactures plant-based alternatives to meat products.[2][3] The company was founded in 2018 by Ben Pasternak and Sam Terris[4][5][6] and was acquired by plant-based investor Ahimsa in 2024.[7]

The company's main product is NUGGS, a plant-based chicken nugget alternative.[8] SIMULATE also makes a plant-based chicken patty product called DISCS.[9][10]

## History

[edit]

The product NUGGS was launched in July 2019 via a direct-to-consumer website.[11] NUGGS began sale in retail stores such as Whole Foods Market, Walmart, Sam's Club, and Target in early 2021.[12] The company also sells its products through ghost kitchens in San Francisco and Los Angeles. In July 2019, SIMULATE (then NUGGS) announced that it was changing its name to SIMULATE.[13][14][15] The company plans to expand internationally, first to Canada.[16][17]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Simulate Inc - Company Profile and News".
2. ^ Berenstein, Nadia. "Can This 19-Year-Old Tech Whiz Make Nuggets — And An Animal-Free Lifestyle — Go Viral With NUGGS?". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
3. ^ Phan, Trung T. (2020-08-23). "Ben Pasternak: "SIMULATE is a nutrition company with a software framework"". The Hustle. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
4. ^ Sanchez, Kait (2021-03-04). "I tried the Nuggs, and they tasted like memes". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
5. ^ Peters, Adele (2019-07-09). "The newest plant-based meat brand comes from a 19-year-old founder". Fast Company. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
6. ^ "SIMULATE Founder Ben Pasternak Aims to Optimize Human Nutrition". COOL HUNTING®. 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
7. ^ https://www.just-food.com/news/ahimsa-snaps-up-nuggs-maker-simulate/
8. ^ Beer, Jeff (2021-03-26). "How the Tesla of chicken hit a ludicrous growth mode thanks to ghost kitchens". Fast Company. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
9. ^ Edwards, Tanya (2021-02-16). "We tried Nuggs, the plant-based chicken that's all over Instagram". CNN Underscored. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
10. ^ "The Vegan "Tesla of Chicken Nuggets" Just Launched at 800 Walmart Stores". VegNews.com. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
11. ^ "NUGGS "operates like a software company" and is run by a 19-year-old tech entrepreneur - The Good Food Institute". The Good Food Institute. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
12. ^ Bitter, Alex. "'The Tesla of Chicken' just found its way onto shelves at Walmart and Target. Its 21-year-old founder explains how his plant-based nugget business did $8 million in sales last year". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
13. ^ "Nuggs rebrands as Simulate with new cash, a new CTO and an expanded line of faux-meat foods". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
14. ^ "SIMULATE Raises $11M to Reimagine Your Childhood Favorite Foods with A Plant-Based Twist". AlleyWatch. 2020-07-17. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
15. ^ "Nuggs launches new parent company, taps former Danone exec". www.foodbusinessnews.net. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
16. ^ "Nuggs creator Simulate raises $50M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
17. ^ Yu, Douglas. "Reddit Cofounder Alexis Ohanian Leads $50 Million Series B Funding In Plant-Based Meat Startup SIMULATE". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-06-11.