Dubai-Based Plant-Based Meat Startup Lands At Duke University
This fall at Duke University, a supreme pizza at Il Forno, a dosa at Tandoor, spicy miso ramen at Ginger & Soy, three-bean chili at Sprout Cafe, and chorizo at Sazón Latin Kitchen all use plant protein from the same supplier (who is also a VEGPRENEUR Circle member working with one of our Experts, Jeffrey Harris). Duke Dining introduced Nadura*, a range of pea and rice plant proteins developed for professional foodservice, at the start of the Fall 2026 semester. Duke’s culinary teams spent several months developing recipes before the products reached menus.
A dosa and a supreme pizza rarely have much in common, and that spread is what Nadura Foods is selling. Co-founder and culinary medicine chef Neha Jamani Dhawan said the range gives chefs a protein base for familiar dishes “while preserving their own culinary identity.” For founders building plant-based foodservice brands, Duke shows one ingredient line reaching at least five restaurant menus in a single semester.
Five kitchens, one supplier
Duke Dining counted 33 campus dining locations in its 2024 sustainability audits, and it contracts outside operators to run many of them. The Brodhead Center opened in 2016 with 13 restaurants, each with its own look and feel. Brenen’s Restaurant Group, which runs five Duke Dining locations including Sazón and Il Forno, is among the operators cooking with Nadura*. Don Qualls, the group’s vice president for university dining development, said the product let its chefs create plant-forward dishes that are “fully integrated into the dining experience, rather than simply offered as an alternative.”
What the range is made of
Nadura* is made from pea and rice protein, which the company says delivers a complete amino acid profile. The products are non-GMO and free of soy, gluten, preservatives, and artificial flavors. Formats include beef-style and chicken-style grounds and patties that chefs can reshape, plus seasoned kebabs. Nadura Foods says the products are vegan and Halal certified.
A pledge with measurable goals
Duke Dining has published a plant-forward pledge that commits the program to making plant-forward options available, visible, and appealing, and to setting measurable goals for plant-forward eating. As of 2024, every Duke Dining location that serves meals offered at least one vegetarian or vegan option daily. Program director Grayson Crabtree said the collaboration gives Duke Dining “another versatile way to bring plant-forward and protein-rich options into everyday menus.”
Nadura Foods says the range is available to U.S. foodservice operators through Sysco and US Foods and that it is now expanding its work with universities, healthcare providers, contract dining operators, corporate dining programs, and health-focused meal companies. Other campuses have already put percentages on goals like Duke’s. UC Riverside has pledged to serve 50% plant-based meals by 2027, joining UCLA, UC San Diego, and UC Berkeley as signers of Humane World for Animals’ Forward Food Pledge. Every percentage target like that is a menu someone has to fill.
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