Contxto – What smells, looks and tastes like meat, yet is not? No, I’m not talking about that pink slime from McDonald’s.
Meaning “future farm” in Portuguese, Fazenda Futuro has delivered what it promised. As we reported last month in anticipation of the big reveal, the company finally announced the release of its Futuro Burger 2.0.
Just as a quick reminder, Futuro Burger 2.0 replicates all characteristics of beef meat. In all actuality, though, it’s made purely from vegetable-based ingredients. Some of these include soy, peas and beetroots.
Customer feedback
Last Monday, the company released the 2.0 version of the product as a burger. As previously reported, this new version is the result and iteration of customer feedback from its previous launch.
Some of these suggestions included changes to the product’s smokey taste and decreasing the amount of sodium in the recipe.
This week, the product will reach 3,800 stores and restaurants, according to company estimates. Following customer recommendations, now the burger is 11 percent less caloric, has 23 percent fewer carbs and 13 percent less fat than the first version. Fazenda Futuro launched the original in May in partnership with Brazil’s Lanchonete da Cidade.
“While animal meat cannot evolve, the opposite applies very well to plant meat,” said Marcos Leta, founder of Fazenda Futuro, who says that sugar and spices are also added.
According to the founder, these are real changes based on consumer feedback and they will continue happening as buyers provide suggestions about the product. Just as any tech startup iterates on its software.
Foreign expansion
When we covered Fazenda’s recent Series A led by monashees and Go4it, the company’s valuation was US$100 million. As they raised US$8.5 million, these funds reportedly went towards testing new products as well as launching more within the Brazilian market and abroad.
While Fazenda Futuro intends to expand to other countries, Leta didn’t specify which ones yet.
“We realize that there is a great opportunity to be a global company because of consumer demand,” he said.
This month, other big players released their own versions of meatless meat. For instance, Burger King launched a veggie burger in partnership with Brazil’s largest meat producer, Marfrig.
For Leta, however, the key lays in providing higher access to meat-alternatives.
“Big changes in consumption happen when you increase people’s access to alternatives,” said Leta. “Vegetable-based meat has emerged to revision animal meat.”
-VC
