The meat has gained a new organic competitor in the refrigerated section.

Now there is finally good news for consumers who have long been searching in vain for organic plant-based alternatives to ground beef, reports Dragsbæk, where Henrik Lund, director of plant-based transition, is pleased that the flowpack bags with 300 g fresh Organic Plant Mince are currently being launched widely in Danish retail.

It is the first organic moldable plant-based ground meat on the Danish market, based on so-called textured plant proteins. They are produced by Organic Plant Protein in Hedensted, which owns the brand Plant Mate, made from organic peas, horse beans, and sunflower seeds.

According to the producers of the product, Plant Mince can be shaped like a 'minced meat' and used for Tex-Mex dishes, lasagna, pizza toppings, etc. The launch is the result of close collaboration between three Danish companies, explains Henrik Lund.

"We got the idea for the product, which we developed in collaboration with Organic Plant Protein. They developed the prototype of Organic Plant Mince and selected the organic proteins that would be best suited for making our basic ground."

The third partner in the collaboration is Hilton Foods in Hasselager, which already packages and sells meat to both Coop and Salling Group.

"Hilton is part of an international group, and it’s fantastic that we have gotten them to grind and package the products for us, so we have the opportunity to scale up production," says Henrik Lund.

Largest distribution so far

With the new fresh product, Henrik Lund believes that it has been successful to develop a nutritionally correct product with the right texture and some properties that should work in most Danish kitchens.

The grocery trade apparently shares this view, and Naturli’ Organic Plant Mince is available from this week in Netto, Føtex, Bilka, Rema 1000, Coop 365, Kvickly, and SuperBrugsen, where the product is placed in the meat section.

"This is the largest distribution we have ever had for a plant-based ground meat," says Henrik Lund, who hopes that the launch marks the start of a real breakthrough for organic plant-based ground meat.

Similar collaborations abroad

The same is true for Nikka Sig Kristensen. She is the director of Organic Plant Protein, which has led the development of the first prototype of the organic basic ground meat in the company's small development kitchen.

"Many chains have said yes to including the product in their range. They wouldn’t do that if they didn’t believe in the product, so we hope, of course, that it will be a big breakthrough," says Nikka Sig Kristensen and continues:

"Although we are primarily an export company, we have totally Danish roots, so it means a lot to us to get our plant proteins out on the Danish market. So we are very happy with the collaboration with Naturli’ and Hilton."

She states that Organic Plant Protein has several similar collaborations abroad, where they also work with several meat producers. They help the Danish company produce plant-based ready meals, ground meat, and several other products, which means that Organic Plant Protein today derives most of its revenue from abroad, while sales of textured plant proteins in Denmark have so far been sluggish.

Turn down the heat

Nikka Sig Kristensen experiences that Danes may be a bit more skeptical and less experimental regarding plant-based diets than citizens in several of our neighboring countries.

This tendency may be reinforced by the fact that the quality of the first plant-based ground meats that hit Danish shelves back in 2018, according to Nikka Sig Kristensen, was of quite variable quality. Therefore, it is important to convince Danes that there has been significant product development since the first trays of plant-based ground meat were introduced 8-9 years ago.

"We are a nation that has eaten meat for many generations, and we are very traditional, so it can be difficult to get used to new plant-based foods," says the director, who is convinced that Organic Plant Mince is the best yet organic plant-based ground meat — but it should be prepared differently than ground meat.

"You cannot fry plant-based mince at the same high temperatures as meat. It should be fried at medium heat and for a slightly longer time. Plant-based mince is very flavor-neutral, and the whole idea behind our plant-based ground meat is that it’s up to the consumer to season it in the way they want. Whether you’re heading to Mexico for Tex-Mex, or prefer Italy with lasagna or spaghetti Bolognese, that’s also an option," says Henrik Lund, who himself chose to serve plant-based 'Korean sticky balls' when he handed out tastings at the Food Festival in Aarhus.

Cheaper than ground beef

Both Henrik Lund and Nikka Sig Kristensen attach great importance to the fact that it is possible to sell the plant-based ground meat for 32.95 DKK in Netto and Rema 1000. That is up to 30 percent cheaper than the price of organic ground beef in Danish chains.

"That’s the right price point for this product, and it also has a huge impact in the market we are operating in right now," says Nikka Sig Kristensen, while Henrik Lund points out that plant-based mince also performs well on several health parameters.

"It has the Keyhole label, and it’s gluten-free. There are 18 g of protein per 100 g and a very low fat content of only 2.7 g. On the other hand, it contains 7.2 g of dietary fiber. That’s very high compared to meat, which contains no dietary fiber at all," says Henrik Lund, who also believes it’s important for some customers that there are only 148 calories in 100 g of plant-based mince:

"My expectation is that with this product, we can reach a broader target group than just vegans and vegetarians because we see that organic products are still in demand among Danish consumers."