Plant-based sashimi firm launches in the UK

A year after launching in the Netherlands, the 100% plant-based sashimi is now available in the UK, through Asian food distribution firm JFC.

In the Netherlands, Vegan ZeaStar sashimi are currently on the menu of the Vegan Junk Food Bars in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

The products contain no tuna or salmon and have been manufactured with tapioca starch and seaweed glucose.

A spokeswoman for the firm told Food Manufacture​ that “supermarkets will be next​”, following the success of the product.

Overfished​

Plant-based sushi – as well as the wider plant-based industry – is seeing impressive growth due to the bad ecological reputation of tuna and salmon, which are currently overfished because of popular demand among consumers.

“The demand for tasty 100% plant-based products is growing rapidly worldwide​,” the firm said.

“Reasons are diverse: health, ecological footprint and climate change, which is largely attributed to the meat, fish and dairy industry and overfishing – scientific reports are stating increasingly alarming numbers on fish stocks, implying that if fishing continues as we do now, oceans will be empty by 2048. ​

“As a distributor of plant-based products, Vegan Finest Foods can tell from its own experience that a shift is taking place in consumer habits​.”

Booming​

As previously reported by Food Manufacture​, the plant-based sector is booming, with several major firms launching products in recent months.

Global food giant Nestlé is recently partnered with ingredients firm Corbion​ to explore the use of microalgae in plant-based products.

Fast food giant Burger King also recently launched its first plant-based patty​ in restaurants across Europe.

In addition, Mars has confirmed that it is to launch its first vegan chocolate product under the Galaxy brand​ in the UK.