Food & Beverage

UK Startup Launches Vegan Meat That “‘Will Fool Carnivores”

A new UK startup called THIS, has debuted a range of meat substitute products, including a realistic bacon product, made from soy bean protein, water and pea protein, which the creators claim will “fool carnivores”.

The Instagram post from THIS states the following regarding the imminent launch into health food chain Holland & Barrett: “THIS IS COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU, with @hollandandbarrett – THIS Isn’t Chicken salt & pepper pieces – THIS Isn’t Chicken tikka pieces – THIS Isn’t Bacon rashers -are all launching from the end of June, across the country in 645 Holland and Barrett stores. In the least creepy way possible – I CANT WAIT TO FEED YOU ALL. Andy”

The product line also includes chicken rotisserie pieces, and panko-bread-crumbed goujons of chicken, which will all be launched into the Holland & Barrett stores simultaneously. Founders Andy Shovel and Peter Sharman formerly ran an animal meat burger delivery company called Chosen Bun, which became successful in the pre-Deliveroo days and which they quickly cashed in. The pair say that their product line is extremely similar to animal meat, inkeeping with current trends in this age of the vegan bleeding burger.

“So the main reason why our food is really meaty, is that we took AGES (around 1.5 years) to develop it, and it was really really really hard. We have tasted over 2,000 iterations across our 8 launch products – it’s been a long old road. In terms of texture, we take plant-based ingredients and introduce heat, pressure and water. By dialling in our recipes and our cooking techniques, we’re able to produce food with a fibrous texture – just like meat.

When it comes to taste, that’s a case of breaking down exactly what it is that makes chicken or bacon smell and taste like chicken and bacon. Once you identify the constituent parts of those tastes and smells, you can try to recreate them using a lot of clever people with clever solutions that don’t involve any animals!”

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