New Ingredient offers a Natural, Clean & Sustainable Meat Alternative
The plant-based substitute market is evolving. Consumers are increasingly favouring natural alternatives, with 54% of consumers now wanting plant-based products to be authentic standalone products [1], moving away from ‘imitations’ trying to mimic the taste and texture of meat & fish. With a growing spotlight on label declarations and overprocessing, consumers attitudes are too shifting to simplified, natural & authentic plant-based alternatives – with many actively avoiding long & unfriendly label declarations.
complexTM ZERO – A Sustainable & Natural Alternative
Ulrick & Short have launched a new plant-based alternative ingredient, complexTM ZERO. It is conceptually new to the market, offering a completely new alternative eating experience for consumers. complexTM ZERO is a natural, clean & highly nutritious solution, sourced from Sweden. It is based only on 3 whole crops & upcycled rapeseed & using natural process methods – ensuring an ultra-clean & consumer friendly back-of-pack declaration.
complexTM ZERO is locally grown in and produced in Sweden, meaning a minimal environmental footprint, with only 0.81kg of CO2 emissions produced per kg of complexTM ZERO – for comparison, this is 40 times less CO2 emissions produced than beef per kg[2].
Nutritious & Versatile
Additionally, complexTM ZERO is naturally rich in protein & fibres, and contains 70% less fat & 94% less saturated fat when compared with standard 20% fat beef mince, making it appropriate for healthy reformulation & can greatly assist in achieving HFSS compliance.
complexTM ZERO is both easy to use & an incredibly versatile ingredient. It’s texturally similar to mince, and provides a sweet, buttery & nutty flavour profile. It’s appropriate for a broad range of product applications, from savoury bakery fillings – such as pies & pastries, ready meals such as Bolognese a & lasagnes, as well as formed meat substitute products, and even snacking & performance food applications.
Ulrick & Short R&D Manager, Danni Schroeter, said “complex ZERO is a genuine wholefood alternative, not an imitation of meat & fish products. The development of complex ZERO was borne out of a desire to provide a nutritious & clean genuine alternative to enable plant-based NPD to evolve and not require ingredients with un-consumer friendly declarations such as methylcellulose to mimic a specific textural property.”
Schroeter added, “the localised sourcing of complex ZERO make it inherently sustainable, both in terms of future production, but also a vastly reduced carbon footprint when compared not just with meat products, but also other plant-based products & ingredients.”
To find out more about complexTM ZERO visit Ulrick & Short’s website & watch their masterclass!
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