Austrian startup Wunderkern introduces what it says is the first plant-based cheese alternative made from fruit pits to be available in national retail. As of now, Wunderkern Kesä is available at Billa Plus throughout Austria, in three variants: Mountain Gaudi, Pesto, and Tomato Olive.
“Instead of growing new ingredients, we should first use all the raw materials we already have.”
At the heart of Wunderkern’s mission is to reduce the waste of fruit pits that would otherwise be produced in the manufacture of juice and jam. Through unique processes, the seeds of apricots, plums and cherries are transformed into sustainable food that not only tastes good, but is also good for the planet.
Melts when grated
The startup based in Lower Austria has already celebrated considerable success with the Wunderkern Drink, a plant-based milk alternative made from apricot seeds, and last year developed ice creams created with the upcycled fruit pits. Now Wunderkern Kesä is set to build on this success. According to the company, it not only offers a unique main ingredient, but also the special property that it can melt when grated.
“Instead of growing new ingredients, we should first use all the raw materials we already have. With Wunderkern, we make that possible for fruit kernels,” explains Wunderkern founder Luca Fichtinger. By avoiding the waste of kernels, the company underlines its sustainability ambitions, because the use of apricot kernels saves large amounts of water and CO2 compared to conventional ingredients such as nuts or animal products.
In addition to Kesä, Wunderkern offers a chocolate cream made from apricot kernels as well as delicacy oils made from cherry, plum, and apricot kernels. The range will soon be expanded with two new varieties of plant-based milk alternatives. Both drink variants, No M:lk and Barista, will be available at Billa Plus, just like the Wunderkern Kesä. The Barista Drink will also be available at an additional 500 Billa branches.
Further information: www.wunderkern.com
