US food company, Beyond Burger, is shaking up the meat section of Coles and IGA with its plant-based burger offering. The merchandising strategy, a first for Coles, was pioneered by the company in the US to much success and is now being adopted globally.
Everything from the packaging to the cooking instructions and finished product emulates a real beef burger. The Beyond Burger “bleeds” when cooked and is best served medium-rare.
As more and more consumers introduce a flexitarian approach to their diet, distributor Future Farms, aims to bring plant-based products mainstream. Beyond Meat is an example of this as a majority of its consumers are meat-eaters.
The Beyond Burger is created using pea protein, canola oil, cellulose from bamboo, and potato starch to deliver the texture of a beef burger. Trace amounts of beet give it a meaty red colour while coconut oil adds the juiciness.
The burger has no cholesterol, GMOs, soy or gluten and includes more protein and iron than beef but less saturated and total fat.
According to a recent study, The Beyond Burger patty requires 99 per cent less water, 93 per cent less land and generates 90 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions, using 46 per cent less energy to produce than its beef equivalent.
Harriet Wischer, category manager for BBQ Meat in Coles Supermarkets, called it an “innovative and delicious plant-based protein product”.
“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 Farm Co on the introduction of another innovative and delicious plant-based protein product on Australian shelves,” Wischer said.
The Beyond Burger is currently available at Coles and select IGA supermarkets nationwide with RRP from $11.00 per pack of two patties.
