Sustainable protein manufacturer, Harvest B, says its latest range is a world first, combining sustainable plant proteins with traditional animal proteins in a 50:50 blend to deliver a product with improved health, environmental, and yield claims.
The two products feature slow-cooked beef or lamb blended with Harvest B’s plant-protein product. The company says it has been developed to improve the affordability and nutritional value of animal meats, while boosting sustainability and availability of protein to a greater range of customers.
Harvest B CEO and co-founder, Kristi Riordan, said, “The global food industry is being influenced by a number of macro issues and at this nexus of taste, nutrition, cost, and sustainability is precisely where Harvest B has sought to provide a solution.”
Riordan said the diced beef and diced lamb products will deliver 30 per cent more protein yield per serve, boost fibre, retain iron and B12 content, and halve the cholesterol, total and saturated fat content, all while reducing paddock to plate emissions by up to 46 per cent when compared to traditional 100 per cent meat products.
“The cost per serve value is 30 per cent better than current protein products – this is a win-win for consumers and the food service industry,” Riordan said.
Harvest B has developed the product for the food service industry.
“Historically, animal protein has been blended with other ingredients to achieve cost reductions in products like sausages, burgers, and meatballs. We wanted to leap forward into the next generation of products with something that addresses affordability in our current inflationary environment, but also improves nutrition in a higher quality protein product,” she said.
The slow cooked product will come pre-prepared for ease of use while retaining the taste and texture of the meats consumers know and love, the company said.
Harvest B’s technology sustainably produces large pieces of plant proteins, similar in texture to meat, without the need for artificial binders and additives that plant-based meats have traditionally needed.
slow cooked Greek lamb recipe.
Paired with animal proteins in its blended range, the slow cooked diced meats absorb ‘purge’ (fluid) that would normally be left behind in packaging or the pan, meaning less waste, less packaging, and less transport costs. This novel approach has allowed food producers to rethink the way they approach the development of new products and bridge the gap between pure meat and vegetarian products.
Harvest B COO and co-founder, Alfred Lo, said, “Harvest B believes the path to a more sustainable food industry needs all consumers to be active participants of the journey. For too long, the food industry and consumers have been offered expensive products that have not met their expectations for taste, texture, and usability. By narrowly focusing on meat-free consumers we have left such a huge consumer base on the sidelines – this needs to change.
“The current way of feeding the world’s population is unsustainable and frankly becoming more expensive, and volatile. Harvest B blended products are a way to better manage our finite resources, making them more affordable, healthier to consume and easier to use – be it in a good bolognese, bourguignon, or burrito,” said Lo.
Harvest B was founded in 2020 and launched in 2022 with federal grant and institutional investor support. Most recently it expanded into the retail channel with its plant-based protein products stocked through Woolworth’s online platform, healthylife. In August last year, the company signed a distribution deal with New Zealand food distribution business, Dunninghams. Harvest B opened its plant-based meat ingredients facility in January 2023.
