Pantry · Stockton, California

Kevin's Natural Foods

Sous vide proteins and clean sauces that make a scratch-style dinner fast.

Founded by: Kevin McCray, Dan Costa
Based in: Stockton, California

Their story

Kevin's Natural Foods grew out of Kevin McCray's own kitchen. In his early twenties he spent years managing an autoimmune condition, and changing how he ate made a real difference. A decade later, with kids and a demanding job, he found that the hard part of eating well was finding the time, not knowing what to cook.

With business partner Dan Costa, he built a line of fully cooked meats paired with sauces free of refined sugar, soy and dairy. The brand makes its food at its own facility in Stockton, about an hour from San Francisco, and first reached shoppers through Bay Area Costco stores in 2019.

The company grew quickly into grocery stores across the country, and in 2023 it was acquired by Mars.

How it's made

Proteins like chicken breast are trimmed to strict standards, vacuum sealed and cooked sous vide at a precise temperature. Each kit pairs the cooked protein with a pouch of sauce, such as Korean barbecue, Thai coconut or tikka masala. At home you sear the meat, then simmer it in the sauce to finish.