Convenience has been a strong driver in the food market for years, in retail as well as out of home. In recent months take-out and delivery models have experienced a tremendous boom.
The operative term is “new work,” and home office and mobile working call for need-oriented solutions. Pizza is a great example. This familiar, convenient classic is undergoing a new hype. Euromonitor International projects global pizza market revenue growth of almost 11% this year, to 132.3 billion USD. For Eastern Europe, the projected rate is 16%.
This type of growth should come as no surprise. Pizza always works and is very versatile—from classics like pepperoni, ham and tuna; to newer adaptations such as a white pizza with sour cream instead of tomato sauce. Growing demand in this category also brings high potential for plant-based versions.
Vegan alternatives to pepperoni or tuna
With Planteneers’ compounds, manufacturers can offer the entire range of pizzas with purely plant-based ingredients, and so address the rising demand for plant-based convenience foods.
Planteneers’ fiildMeat S functional systems are ideal for making plant-based sausage products of all kinds. These include vegan pepperoni and ham. Planteneers’ solution is made without soy. Instead, it uses fava beans and peas as protein sources. Another plus point is that the products are very easily sliceable and the edges stay appetizingly fresh on the pizza (without burning).
The fiildTex D range offers a change of pace. This pea-based system lets manufacturers produce a plant-based tuna substitute that is as good on pizza as the fish original. For maximum pizza indulgence, fiildDairy CHG can be used to make plant-based alternatives to grated cheese. These are relatively easy to produce and have very good functional properties. They don’t stick during grating, have the ideal melting behavior during baking, and stretch just like real pizza cheese. These cheese alternatives also can be made in popular varieties like mozzarella and cheddar.
Strong growth in the deep frozen category
Pizza is just one example in the steadily growing deep frozen category. Lasagna is another big favorite. Here again, Planteneers offers the ingredients for purely plant-based products, from functional systems for plant-based bechamel sauce that is heating and heat-thaw stable, to plant-based cheese alternatives, to ground meat alternatives for the filling, the latter made with fiildMeat P series functional systems.
Together with the appropriate texturate, industry partners can use these systems to make all the most popular ground meat products, from lasagna and bolognese sauce to burger patties. Thanks to innovative solutions using sunflower and fava bean protein, the final products can be made soy- and gluten-free.
About Planteneers:
Planteneers GmbH, headquartered in Ahrensburg, Germany, develops and produces custom system solutions for plant-based alternatives to meat, sausage and fish products, as well as cheese, dairy products and deli foods. As a member of the independent, owner-operated Stern-Wywiol Gruppe with a total of twelve sister companies, Planteneers can make use of many synergies. The company has access to the knowledge of some 100 R&D specialists and to the extensive applications technology of the large Stern-Technology Center in Ahrensburg. As part of the Technology Center, the Plant Based Competence Center formed in 2019 is the creative pool for alternative solutions and the heart of Planteneers.
Customers benefit from the Group’s international network of 17 affiliates and numerous qualified foreign representatives in the world's key markets, as well as the Group’s shared production facilities and own logistics resources. With revenues exceeding 500 million euros and some 1,700 employees around the globe, Stern-Wywiol Gruppe is one of the world's most successful international suppliers of food & feed ingredients.
