Planted debuts a pioneering fermented steak and expands production

Planted, the Swiss FoodTech trailblazer producer of clean label plant-based meats, is introducing its latest culinary innovation, the planted.steak, a fermented beef fillet steak made from plants.

Planted.steak is the first product to be launched from Planted’s ‘whole-muscle platform’, which also marks the announcement of the company’s strategic expansion of its production capabilities with a fermentation facility in Kemptthal, Switzerland.

Planted.steak oozes juiciness, tenderness and a rich distinctive umami flavour, all thanks to the fermentation process. True to Planted’s philosophy created exclusively from natural ingredients including soya protein, rapeseed oil, bean and rice flours as well as a proprietary blend of microbial cultures, the steak is testament to sustainable culinary ingenuity.

“Our planted.steak is designed to satisfy even the most discerning palate. It’s a true game-changer, not only for us but also for the whole category,” said Pascal Bieri, co-founder of Planted. “No other plant-based steak on the market uses only natural ingredients, zero additives and displays features such as juiciness as well as tenderness. In the research and development process, we have worked with over 50 gastronomy professionals to achieve a steak that is literally unreal, in taste, texture, application and overall eating experience.”

With high protein and fibre, essential micronutrients vitamin B12 and iron, planted. steak also has low saturated fats, catering to the health-conscious palate and true foodies with a steak packed with juiciness, tenderness and taste.

Planted sees the Planted.steak not just as a culinary innovation, but as a scalable sustainable solution to the environmental challenges posed by traditional meat production, especially beef production. Creation of the planted.steak needs 97% less CO₂e emissions per product weight compared to its animal counterpart, according to the company. In terms of water footprint, planted.steak requires 81% less freshwater than an animal counterpart.

Using fermentation technology allows Planted to continue to strive for clean label and healthy protein sources while doubling down on taste and naturalness – pushing the boundaries of alternative protein.

In early 2023, the Swiss Innovation Agency Innosuisse acknowledged this and awarded Planted 2 million Swiss francs as part of the Swiss Accelerator Program, aiming to accelerate the development of their whole-muscle platform. This has enabled Planted to launch its fermentation-based steak only a year later with plans for launches across DTC channels as well as in retailers across Europe in 2024.

Planted aims to create as many different product concepts as possible from its whole-muscle platform, where the muscle grows through proprietary fermentation processes. The whole-muscle is comparable to a full loin, allowing unparalleled versatility and seamless adoption into existing meat processing. This allows Planted to launch new and differentiated meats, while allowing adaptations to local food favourites and taste.

In tandem with the launch of the planted.steak, Planted unveils the strategic expansion of its production capabilities with the new production site has created 30 technical and operational jobs.

“This investment in our expansion stems from a strategic decision to enhance our biotechnology footprint in Kemptthal – from labs to production. Our aim is to introduce innovative products from our fermentation platform to the market fast, particularly our planted.steak, which utilises the most advanced and disruptive fermentation technology today in terms of scalability, taste and product quality,” says Lukas Böni, Co-founder and member of the executive board of Planted. “We are proud to be one of the few innovators of plant-based meat that takes on all steps in the production process, from R&D to industrial production. The additional and new production site allows Planted a very fast turnaround from pilot stage to industrial production, significantly closing the time gap to market launch.”

Green technology played a central role in the construction of the new production site. The entire building, shared by various FoodTech companies, has an eco-friendly energy system. This system uses the ambient air as an energy source. The air feeds the heat pumps, which provide environmentally friendly heating and cooling in the buildings. According to EKZ, over a period of 30 years, this will save more than 44,000 tonnes of CO₂.

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