Sizzling plant-based skewers: Unilever’s The Vegetarian Butcher unveils plant-based kebab

13 Sep 2023 --- A new plant-based meat skewer that mimics animal meat kebabs’ taste, texture and grilling behavior is set to launch in Europe. The product results from a partnership between German The Düzgün Group, a döner producer, and Unilever’s The Vegetarian Butcher, a pioneer in plant-based meat alternatives.

The plant-based kebab caters to the growing demand for meat alternatives in Europe, especially in Germany, where döner is the most popular street food.

Europe produces 400 million metric tons of kebabs daily, according to Unilever, which wishes to tap into the €12 billion (US$12.86 billion) a year market.

“The development was an exciting challenge: Döner kebab is a unique product with a long tradition,” says Bart van de Ree, R&D developer at The Vegetarian Butcher.

“The joint development allowed us to understand and then mimic all the culinary aspects of the kebab: the flavor, the texture, the slicing and shaving as well as the grilling behavior,” he explains.

Getting everything right
The Düzgün Group and The Vegetarian Butcher had to work on getting the product “just right,” focusing on flavor, texture, slicing and shaving and cooking and grilling.

Unilever wishes to tap into the €US$12.86 billion a year kebab market.The companies added “a lot of flavors and spices,” such as cumin, oregano, garlic and onion, to get the authentic meat kebab taste. Moreover, the plant-based kebab uses soy and other binding ingredients to shape it like a traditional kebab skewer.

Thinly grilled sliced meat is also important to recreate the usual kebab experience. 

“However, it is a challenge to keep a thin slice meaty and juicy. The Vegetarian Butcher incorporated a blend of fats with different melting characteristics and worked to make sure that when the plant-based meat was perfectly browned and ready to be sliced, it was still juicy,” the companies explain.

Relating to cooking and grilling, the companies wanted a product that behaves and can be handled like animal meat. The kebab is made to be grilled on the skewer, just like an animal meat kebab would, with the same speed of cooking and browning.

Restaurants don’t need to add equipment or amend their cooking techniques.

The skewer “can seamlessly fit with their equipment and cooking procedures. The product performs just how we intended to,” says Hugo Verkuil, CEO of The Vegetarian Butcher.

Kebab trends
While kebab is served across Europe, The Vegetarian Butcher highlights that “when it comes to the ingredients that come on top, tastes vary.”

In Germany, they stick to classic tomato, cabbage, onion and dill-yogurt sauce. Meanwhile, in the UK, they spice it up with hot curry sauce. The French add French fries. Similarly, the Spanish  mix French fries in the falafel.60% of 16 to 59-year-olds in Germany say they would order a plant-based kebab.

In Italy, the top falafels are the ones with hot pepper relish, tzatziki and harissa.

Hacking a meat icon
The two companies want to turn “a once-niche purchase” into a readily available option on menus across Europe. 

“We can deliver on a large scale and hence we are perfectly set up to offer restaurateurs an international supply chain for plant-based skewers,” adds Blue Yildizbakan, Project Leader at The Düzgün Group.

“The plant-based kebab is a great extension of our existing product range. It is not an alternative but rather a stand-alone addition to our range. We cannot wait to distribute the first skewers to our customers,” 

Market research from Unilever unveils that 60% of 16 to 59-year-olds in Germany say they would order a plant-based kebab.

“Hacking meat icons like the döner kebab with plant-based equivalents is what it is all about for us,” he adds. “We are targeting meat lovers who don’t want to miss out. And when it comes to guests, we are convinced people will not be able to taste the difference,” Verkuil concludes.

Edited by Marc Cervera