US cult brand Beyond Meat has launched its plant-based Beyond Burger into IGA stores nationally and in Coles supermarkets across NSW.
The vegan patties have been developed to ''bleed” when cooked and are best served medium-rare, according to their maker. The product also boasts 20g of protein per patty, contains more iron than and less fat than its ground-beef counterpart, and is soy, gluten, GMO and cholesterol free.
Beyond Meat is privately-owned and based in Los Angeles, California, and it has attracted some high profile backers including Bill Gates and Leonardo DiCaprio, meat giant Tyson Foods, and Twitter co- founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams.
Beyond Burgers are being distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Future Farm Co.
“I’m really encouraged by the progress the Beyond Burger brings to the plant-based movement and look forward to convincing more Aussies to consider a plant-based diet.” Future Farm Co's Australian director Adrian Gastevski said.
“We are aiming to bring plant-based products mainstream and Beyond is an example of this where a majority of its consumers are meat eaters.
“I believe Beyond typifies the direction of plant-based innovation where everyone can benefit from products that finally taste more like those which we are used to but deliver all the health and environmental benefits of consuming a plant-based diet. Ultimately, it’s better for us and better for the environment.
Beyond Burger is created using pea protein isolate, canola oil, refined coconut oil, cellulose from bamboo, and potato starch to deliver the unique texture of a beef burger.
Trace amounts of beet provide the meaty red colour while coconut oil is used to add juiciness. Beyond Meat says it uses a proprietary approach to braid and bind proteins, fats, minerals, and water to recreate the basic architecture of meat.
Coles Supermarkets BBQ meat category manager Harriet Wischer says, “When launching in select stores in the USA in 2016, the Beyond Burger sold out in one hour.
“We trialled the product in 15 selected stores across Melbourne earlier this year and in some stores we sold out in hours, in some cases before the stores had even managed to get them onto the shelf.
“Coles is proud to partner with Future FarmCo on the introduction of another innovative and delicious plant-based protein product on Australian shelves.”
The products will be sold alongside meat as a Coles first, a merchandising strategy that Beyond Meat says it pioneered in the US to much success and which is now being adopted globally.
Romeo’s Retail Group director and IGA committee chairman Joseph Romeo says there is a clear demand for plant-based products .
“We are excited to be among the first to bring the Beyond Burger to our shoppers. As independent retailers we work with many innovative suppliers to launch new and exciting products.
“At IGA we pride ourselves on knowing and listening to our customers and doing our best to stock our shelves with the products they want and we look forward to continuing to be the retailer of choice for innovative new products.”
The Beyond Burger's RRP is from $11.00 per pack which includes two patties.
