The Vegan Thanksgiving of Today—and Tomorrow

The fully vegan Thanksgiving is far from new, but some futuristic additions will grace groaning boards in November sooner than you’d think.

Don’t kid yourself: It’s not Thanksgiving without a Jello mold—which is formed from animal-derived gelatin. But San Francisco–based Geltor— co-founded by Nick Ouzounov and Alex Lorestani—sells vegan gelatin for use in cosmetics; expect an edible version in 2020.

Best known for vegan mayo Vegenaise, Follow Your Heart also sells animalfree cheeses that will complete any vegan scalloped-potato creation. Co-founders Bob Goldberg and Paul Lewin still run the Canoga Park, California–based company, which began as a restaurant in the ’70s.

Boise, Idaho–based Melt Organic helps vegans “butter” dinner rolls and baked potatoes. It was founded by Cygnia Rapp in 2008—and it’s growing fast: Revenue in 2012 was about $400,000, and last year it nearly reached $3 million.

Vegans who want sausage in their stuffing—and sausage should absolutely be in your stuffing—turn to Beyond Meat’s three plant-based varieties. The L.A.– based business was founded by Ethan Brown in 2009; he’s also its CEO.

The sort-of-classic Tofurky, from Hood River, Oregon’s Turtle Island Foods, has brought a semblance of Thanksgiving tradition to vegetarians’ tables since 1995.

Co-founders David Anchel and Arturo Elizondo expect to get Clara Foods’ vegan “egg white” on the market by 2020, and an egg-with-yolk alternative the year after; the latter will make baking vegan pumpkin pies infinitely easier. The San Francisco– based duo have worked on lab-grown egg substitutes since 2014.