NEW YORK — Daring Foods, a New York-based start-up, has partnered with Rastelli Foods Group to commercialize a plant-based chicken substitute. Daring Foods’ plant-based chicken mimics chicken in texture and taste and is made with five ingredients: water, soy, sunflower oil, salt and natural flavoring.

“Our goal with the launch of Daring Foods was to make the swap to plant-based meat as simple as possible,” said Ross Mackay, co-founder and chief executive officer of Daring Foods. “We focused on bridging the taste gap, successfully taking on the daunting task of replacing a beloved staple in our diet with an alternative that you can cook with, tastes great and is good for you. After 24 months of hard work, introducing Daring is an incredibly important step for us.”

Rastelli Foods Group is a food service supplier and producer of meat, poultry and seafood products. Through the multi-million-dollar partnership, Rastelli Foods Group will become the exclusive national distributor of Daring Foods. Additionally, Rastelli will support Daring Foods’ planned push into direct-to-consumer delivery in February 2020.

“Rastelli is a protein company, not just a meat company,” said Ray Rastelli Jr., president of Rastelli Foods Group. “We’re here to fill the center of your plate with the best and most delicious foods — no matter if they come from an animal or a plant. The moment I tasted Daring chicken, I immediately knew this was something unique. Daring fulfills all our requirements for clean, responsibly sourced products. They epitomize what customers have wanted all along, a clean label product that is not a novelty but meant to be eaten every day and easy to cook by almost anyone.”

Founded in 1976, Rastelli Foods Group has an annual global revenue of $450 million, 800 employees worldwide and clients such as retailers Costco and BJ’s. Rastelli brands include Craft Burger, Cleaver’s Organic, Bubba’s Q, Tony Luke’s, Pureland Black Angus Beef and Prime Pork, Three Jerks Jerky, Sustainable Catch Seafood, Pure Land America, O’Deli, Annabelle’s Kitchen, Egg Harbor Seafood and Rastelli’s.