Food tech company NotCo has partnered with Shake Shack to debut new plant-based shake and frozen custard products on the burger chain’s menu.

NotCo uses a patented artificial intelligence (AI) technology to create plant-based products that mimic the look, taste and functionality of traditional animal-based products.

In Shake Shack’s first ever plant-based shake and frozen custard offering, it has launched the Non-Dairy Chocolate Shake (starting at $6.39) and Non-Dairy Chocolate Frozen Custard (starting at $4.69) made with NotCo’s NotMilk product and available now at locations across the US.

Created through the company’s AI chef ‘Guiseppe,’ NotMilk is made from a variety of plant-based ingredients including pea protein, cabbage concentrate and pineapple juice. The company describes the resulting product as a “rich and creamy” beverage that sips, blends, bakes, froths and dunks like traditional dairy milk.

Matias Muchnick, CEO and founder of NotCo said: “Partnering up with Shake Shack used to be a dream of mine and one of the most ambitious milestones for NotCo”.

He added: “We’ve already seen international success with some of the world’s largest food brands and this marks just the beginning for NotCo as we seek to reinvent the food industry and prove to a much wider audience how delicious plant-based food can actually be”.

Jay Livingston, chief marketing officer at Shake Shack said that the company’s mission since launching in 2004 has been to serve up “elevated versions of the classics that not only taste great but are crafted with premium ingredients.”

Livingston commented: “Our guests have been asking for non-dairy options for some time. I’m thrilled that we were able to develop a non-dairy shake and frozen custard with NotCo that meets both our high culinary standards and gives our guests more options. It’s another great addition to our core menu from our Innovation Kitchen.”

Alongside NotMilk, NotCo’s portfolio includes NotBurger and NotChicken products. Its products can be found in over 10,000 retail stores in the US.

In addition to food service partnerships and retail food offerings, the company’s B2B unit lends its AI platform to other brands and ingredient suppliers. The brand’s recent joint venture with Kraft Heinz is the first to demonstrate the programme’s success through its recently launched NotMayo and NotCheese products in the US.

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