The British supermarket chain Tesco received the delivery of 40,000 plant-based steaks from Vivera, which nearly sold out in a week. As the first producer in the world to create the 100% plant-based steak, Vivera foresees high demand in other European countries as well and is currently busy increasing its production.
“We are overwhelmed by the great success of the 100% plant-based steak. Within a few days the first delivery of 40,000 items is nearly sold out. The sales could have been much larger, some supermarkets were sold out within a day. The consumers in England are almost without exception very enthusiastic about the taste and texture of the steak. The hashtag #Vivera almost explodes on Instagram. This ground-breaking product has also received a particularly positive reception from professional critics. We will do our utmost to meet market demand as much as possible by increasing our production faster than planned,” said Gert Jan Gombert of Vivera.
Starting with the 11th of June, the plant-based steak will appear on the shelves of most Dutch retailers, as well as in Belgium at Carrefour. Vivera expects to be able to produce several million pieces this year. Only plant-based ingredients such as wheat and soy are used, making the product suitable for vegetarians, vegans and people who do not eat meat one or more days a week. Vivera aims in particular at the need for a full-fledged plant-based alternative of the steak for the carnivore.
The production of plant-based nutrition offers considerable advantages as a result of a much lower environmental impact and less pressure on scarce resources such as fertile farmland and water. Research by research agency Blonk Consultants shows that the CO2 released during production and consumption of one kilo of the 100% plant-based steak is 3.4 kg CO2 compared to 58 kg CO2 in the regular steak of beef. This means a substantial reduction of almost 95% compared to a traditional steak of beef.
