Oscar Mayer Is Finally Offering Plant-Based Hot Dogs And Sausages

If you're a hot dog lover but trying to cut down on the meat (or cut it out completely), get ready for some exciting news.

Oscar Mayer, the brand that brought you the giant weenie truck, announced it's introducing its first plant-based products. You can now enjoy hot dogs and Italian sausage subs made without any meat—instead, they’re full flavors of ingredients like bamboo fiber, mushroom, and pea protein. As the company said in a press release, the new options give you “the smoky, savory taste and thick, juicy bite fans are craving in plant-based alternatives.” They come in two flavors: bratwurst and Italian.

The new items are called Oscar Mayer NotHotDogs and Oscar Mayer NotSausages which, while it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, is a pretty spot-on description. The (not) dogs debut at Expo West in Anaheim, California, from March 12 to 16, but they won’t roll out to major retailers nationwide until later this year. 

These new meat alternatives come from the Kraft Heinz Not Company, a 2-year-old joint venture between Oscar Mayer and TheNotCompany, which also makes NotChicken Patties, NotMilk, Kraft NotMac&Cheese, Kraft NotCheese Slices, and NotMayo.

This launch comes at a time when plant-based diets may be experiencing a transition. Plant-based meat alternatives have not been doing particularly well lately, after at least a decade of brands and restaurants prioritizing them. But, according to Oscar Mayer, the market still has plenty of success ahead of it. One study noted by the company projected it'll skyrocket from $8.3 billion in 2023 to $19 billion by 2030.

“At The Kraft Heinz Not Company, our goal is to create mouthwatering, plant-based foods that are delicious and accessible for everyone—from the devoted vegan to the plant-based curious,” Lucho Lopez-May, CEO of the Kraft Heinz Not Company, said in a press release. “We know people are hungry for plant-based meat options from brands they know and trust."

“However, plant-based hot dogs and dinner sausage links remain underdeveloped and under-consumed within the broader plant-based meat category, largely due to disappointment in existing offerings’ taste and texture,” Oscar Mayer wrote. “The Kraft Heinz Not Company aims to deliver on these needs and consumers’ evolving preference in the plant-based space.”