This Ranch dressing is 100% plant-based. Photo courtesy of Richard Hanley of Hanley’s Foods
So far, Baton Rouge-based Hanley’s Foods has brought Sensation, Strawberry Vinaigrette and Avocado dressings to store shelves.
The company that started as a tenant in the LSU AgCenter’s Food Incubator program will release a unique version of Ranch dressing this September. Like the company’s other dressings, Ranch is all natural, gluten and GMO-free, says Hanley’s Foods CEO and founder Richard Hanley.
“We have been experimenting like a bunch of mad scientists at the LSU test kitchen,” Hanley says.
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The dressing is 100% plant-based. Instead of using eggs as emulsion, Hanley says yellow Canadian peas were used with coconut cream and white chocolate cocoa butter. Instead of buttermilk, he calls this process of using different ingredients “bettermilk” technology.
“This is a smarter, healthier and cheaper options at the end of the day,” he says. “We want to be part of a better food economy. The old way is chock full of chemicals and mass produced. We want to be mass produced, but produced in a better, more sustainable way.”
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Hanley says well over a year of research went into creating the dressing. He predicts this will be his biggest product.
“People always go with what they know, like and trust,” he says. “Ranch still dominates the industry by far, and it’s 80% of all salad dressings sold. This will introduce more people to our brand.”
As of now, Hanley’s Foods dressings can be found at local grocery stores and throughout the state. He says the plan is to move into the Texas market next, and he has been getting interest all over the nation for his product.