Plant-based new product development round-up
Meatless Farm releases first ‘chicken’ product
Plant-based meat alternatives firm Meatless Farm has released its first ever chicken analogue retail product into Tesco stores.
Made with natural ingredients and pea protein to emulate the texture and taste of chicken, the Meatless Farm Chicken Burger (RRP £2.75 for two burgers) is coated with a southern fried crumb to cater for meat reducers, veggies and vegans alike. The burger will launch into Tesco stores across the country.
Michael Hunter, Managing Director of Meatless Farm UK and Ireland, said the brand’s first retail launch into chicken products was a significant area of growth for the business.
“To secure another listing from the UK’s largest food retailer, Tesco, shows that plant-based is no longer a challenger category, but fast becoming part of daily British food culture as we become more concerned about health and the environment.
“It’s therefore important for us to continue to develop exciting and innovative new products to cater for a range of consumer preferences and eating occasions.”
New ingredients range from Nim’s
Nim’s Fruit Crisps has launched a new
range of air-dried ingredients for use at home and the hospitality and foodservice sectors.
The manufacturer currently offers two types of ingredients – Let’s Cook and Let’s Bake.
Let’s Cook included chillies, courgettes, ginger, mushrooms, peppers and red onions, while Let’s Bake encompasses apples, pears, pineapple and strawberries.
Founder Nimisha Raja said the development of the ingredients launch was born out of necessity, following the massive impact COVID-19 had on the ‘food-on-the-move’ market.
“We could either bemoan our luck or try and do something different, taking our expertise in air-dried manufacturing to launch a new range of ingredients for use in the food and drink sector and, hopefully, with independent and high-street retailers,” said Raja.
“These are really tapping into the major rise in home cooking and baking and, one of the most pleasing things here, is that nothing is off the table, as the air-drying process means we can work with all fruit and vegetables.”
‘World first’ in vegan snack bar market
Plant-based chocolate brand LoveRaw has expanded its range of vegan Cre&m Wafer Bars with the launch of the ‘World’s first’ Salted Caramel Cre&m Wafer Bar.
The new edition contains two crisp wafers filled with LoveRaw’s salted caramel cre&m filling, which are covered in a vegan caramel coating and drizzled with the brand’s vegan chocolate.
Manav Thapar, co-founder at LoveRaw, said: “We are delighted to be expanding our range of Cre&m Wafer Bars, following the huge success and popularity of LoveRaw’s M:lk and White Choc editions. The Salted Caramel Cre&m Wafer Bar is our latest innovation and is part of our accelerated growth plan and mission to be the best tasting vegan chocolate in the UK.
“The LoveRaw Salted Caramel Cre&m Wafer Bar is a world first and we are confident that it will be a big hit with consumers, whether they’re extremely vegan, sometimes vegan, ‘unvegan’ or just vegan curious.”
Vegan friendly brioche buns
Finsbury Food Group has partnered with recipe authors Bosh! To introduce a new vegan brioche bun product.
The first savoury product to be born from the partnership, the buns were designed to compliment Bosh’s plant-based burger recipes.
Ruth McGrath, marketing manager for Finsbury Food Group, said: “As product innovation has always sat at the heart of our partnership with BOSH!™, we knew we already had the industry expertise and growth capacity to disrupt the bread category with a high-quality product that would get consumers excited – regardless of their dietary preferences.
“This is the Finsbury team’s first savoury launch under the Bosh brand and we are confident that the Brilliant Brioche Buns product not only meets the long-awaited needs of those following a plant based diet, but that it will also attract new shoppers to the brand.”
Available in Waitrose from August 18 at £1.30, the product launches just in time for BBQ season and is expected to appeal to the evolving expectations of consumers, as industry forecasts indicate that a total spend on vegan diets will grow to £7.4bn by the end of 2021 – according to Finder’s UK diet trends 2021 report.
Plant-based frozen range hits UK shelves
A new plant-based frozen food range from Verdino Foods aimed at consumers looking to cut down on their meat consumption launched on UK shelves this month.
The Verdino range included the first ‘truly meaty’ plant-based pizza – with a variety of toppings – as well as plant-based burgers, sausages, veggie balls, mince and cevapcici (a grilled dish of minced meat).
Verdino’s range of meat alternatives are made with pea protein and are rich in fibre and proteins, GMO-free, lactose-free, soy-free and vegan certified.
The range will be launched via Verdino’s online store to help create demand before generating listings in grocery retailers.
Verdino country manager, UK & Ireland Ian Bailey said: “The UK plant-based food market is continuing to grow and UK consumers account for 40% of the European meat substitute market so the time is absolutely right for Verdino to launch.
“As well as appealing to vegans and vegetarians, our products are also popular with flexitarians who enjoy the taste and texture of meat but are looking for plant-based alternatives without having to compromise by having restricted choices about what they can eat.”
New meat-free range adheres to UN climate goals
Brazilian meat-free burger brand Future Farm has developed a new range of meat replacement products for the UK market that adhere to the UN’s sustainability goals.
Described as being ‘indistinguishable from products of animal origin’, the range consists of the Future Burger 2030, Future Mince 2030 and Future Meatball 2030.
The products have been developed to fall in line with the United Nations Sustainable 2030 Development Goals – specifically 12, Responsible consumption and production and 15, Life on land.
Future Farm’s range has been ‘updated’ with a mix of natural extracts to ensure a lighter flavour – canola oil and coconut fat add nutritious benefits, while products techniques allow the coconut fat to soak into the Future Burger to give it a juicier, meatier taste. The Future Burger is also the first product in the range to emulate rare, medium and well done cooking points.
Future Farm chief executive Marcos Leta said: “As a food company who uses technology, we are continually reinventing and looking to improve in terms of taste, sustainability, and healthiness. We know how indispensable these pillars are to consumers, as well as for ourselves.
“The 2030 Future Farm range comes at the start of a new era in the company and the plant-based market with new technology that will allow us to continually ‘update’ all our products, making them better for people and our planet.”
