Are You Ready For Hemp-Based Meat? New Meat Alternatives In The Global Market
With more people ditching red meat and seeking healthier, more sustainable options, we now have access to so many meat alternatives.All the meat alternatives in the market were designed to mimic the experience of eating red meat and chicken. Many of them market to consumers to appeal to those who are trying to live more sustainably and healthier lives.
But there’s one surprising alternative: hemp-based meat.
Why Hemp-Based Meat?
Sure, there’s a lot of options out there when it comes to meat alternatives.
These include jackfruit, tempeh, tofu, soy meat, and much more. So why would a hemp-based meat alternative fit well into the market offerings?
Well, hemp is renowned for its superior nutritional profile especially when it comes to protein, which vegetarians and vegans notoriously lack in their diet. Around 25% of hemp seed calories are from protein, which is around the same to that of lamb meat and beef and more compared to other types of meat. In addition, hemp seeds are already a complete source of protein, which is extremely rare in the plant world. Simply by eating hemp-based food, you can already get a great quantity of essential amino acids through your diet.
And that’s not all: hemp is also rich in all the essential fatty acids and health fat to keep you healthy; these include magnesium, potassium, iron, vitamin E, zinc, sulfur, and sodium.
However, the issue is that many meat alternatives contain dangerously high amounts of sodium and fat to make it more flavorful. Other plant-based protein aren’t very bioavailable because of the presence of phytates and lectins, which are anti-nutrients. There are also many people who are allergic to gluten and soy.
This leaves those who want better, tastier, and truly healthy meat alternatives wanting more.
And that’s why using hemp-based meat alternatives are so much better.
Planet-Based Foods
A company called Veiji Holdings Ltd. published a press release sharing plans for their innovative vegan hemp-protein food products through the brand Planet Based Foods, which will be selling their products through the Veiji digital marketplace. Veiji already offers thousands of sustainable food and living products that empower people to live more sustainably. They have determined hemp-based protein as a significant emerging market that also make terrific quality meat alternatives.
“Veiji has built a unique community within the sector that shares in our mission to make healthy, vegan certified products more widely accessible,” said Braelyn Davis, Planet Based Foods’ President and CEO. “Our selection of delicious plant-based meat alternatives are a perfect fit for Veiji’s expanding portfolio of sustainable products, and we look forward to introducing Planet Based Foods to their loyal customer base.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Planet Based Foods into our family of sustainable, vegan certified brands,” said Kory Zelickson, Veiji CEO. “Partnering with innovative companies that are committed to common sustainability goals is essential to Veiji’s growth as we continue to work towards building the world’s largest plant-based marketplace.”
They have an exciting array of hemp-meat already prepared to be used on burgers, tacos, pizza, and even breakfast sausage.
Victory Hemp
Victory Hemp Foods is a Louisville-based business-to-business food processing company that works on developing innovative technologies for converting hemp grain into proteins and oils that are used for food and beverage as well as cosmetics.
They have just made it to a prestigious list of 22 Startups to Watch in 2022.
“Traditionally hemp seed oil and protein have been gritty, and have had a strong earthy flavor that has not been popular with food formulators or mainstream consumers,” explained Aleah Rouse, Victory Hemp Foods Director of Marketing, to Producers Market. “And that’s when we began to focus on the hemp heart.”
Sustainable Foods
Sustainable Foods, a New-Zealand based hemp-based meat maker, revealed last year that they intend to boost exports within Asia Pacific for the next five years. They were previously selling under the name, The Craft Meat Co., though they eventually changed it to better fit their ethos.
They creatively changed their product name to plan*t and chick*n, with the asterisks strategically placed, which was intentional to reflect their core values of nutrition, protein, sustainability, and New Zealand provenance. “We realized the need to communicate our meaning well to consumers, and that ‘The Craft Meat Co’ simply wasn’t describing this well enough anymore – it spoke more to what we aren’t, rather than what we are, which is plan*t based,” explains Sustainable Foods CEO Justin Lemmens, to Food Navigator Asia.
Their white meat alternatives are known as chick*n. “Chick8n is designed to do everything chicken would, and we’re very proud to have already launched this with Hell Pizza, we’re also working on an upcoming national launch with TANK in salads and wraps, and it’s also delicious in burgers as well,” said Business Development Manager and Co-Founder, Kyran Rei, to Food Navigator Asia. “The aim is really to replace any occasion where chicken is being used with Chick*n – the best way to describe it is it’s like a piece of chicken breast or thigh, just with health benefits such as high fiber, low saturated fat and due to the hemp, being a complete protein source which also has cardiovascular, neurological, and anti-inflammatory benefits.”
Bottom Line
Hemp protein products are already widely available, but the same isn’t true just yet for hemp meat. These are exciting additions to dietary options for people who want to eat less or no meat at all, no matter what reason. Given the superior nutrition profile of hemp, it’s easy to see why so many more people are turning to it.
Have you tried hemp meat? What was it like?
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