Seaweed-based vegan burgers and hot dogs hit Albert Heijn in nautical-themed packs

19 Feb 2021 --- The Dutch Weed Burger is launching two of its seaweed-based meat alternatives, Weed Burger and Weed Dogg, at 300 national Albert Heijn supermarket chains next week. 

The Weed Burger patty is made from protein-rich, salty soy chips and enriched with Royal Kombu. Its Weed Dogg counterpart is based on meaty toasted peas and blanched oyster mushroom, creating a texture reminiscent of a bratwurst.

The seaweed used in The Dutch Weed Burger’s offerings is sustainably cultivated at Oosterschelde National Park, the first organic seaweed farm in the Netherlands.

Taking inspiration from sailors’ tattoos and the sea, The Dutch Weed Burger commissioned a tattoo artist to design the vegan burger and hot dogs’ packaging.

“The meat aisle is shrinking and plant-based is growing: great news for the revolution for sure,” Mark Kulsdom, founder of The Dutch Weed Burger, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“I hope people understand the impact of our food choices, the importance of keeping the biosphere diverse, and that the pandemic has everything to do with living healthy lifestyles.”

The arrival of The Dutch Weed Burger marks a “new era” for the company.A new market venue
The plant-based company launched in 2012, selling its algae meat analogs in food trucks at festivals and distributing via its own and local restaurants. 

“For our business, [the launch at Albert Heijn] means a lot because the markets we were engaging in are down due to the pandemic,” says Kulsdom.

“We are happy and humble to realize we have entrance to it and are alive and kicking with our brand – but foremost our plant-based mission.”

Plant forward with seaweed
Innova Market Insights pegged “Plant Forward” as its second top F&B trend for 2021, predicting the rising mainstream appeal of plant-based meat and dairy alternatives will drive expansion to different regions and categories this year.

Albert Heijn’s vegan meat aisle is already well-stocked with patty, sausage and steak alternatives, but Kulsdom affirms while most companies look to replicate meat textures and flavors, his company does not.

“Bringing seaweed notes in a surprising combination with other flavor makers is what we are after. I think the fact that we praise plants makes a big difference between other brands as well.”

Kulsdom adds The Dutch Weed Burger’s fanbase is strengthened by years of touring food and music festivals, its own restaurant and lots of media attention, “so all that work should make us unique.”

The Dutch Weed Burger conducted a survey prior to the launch to test which packaging design would stand out best on-shelf.Nautical nostalgia
A Leiden-based tattoo artist created the graphic design to bring the seafaring concept to life. 

The packaging depicts seaweed leaves in cool shades of blue and turquoise against a black background. Other subtle nautical elements include a trident in place of a fork and ship ropes. 

To ensure the products’ flavors and eco-credentials would stand out on-shelf, The Dutch Weed Burger conducted a consumer survey ten months prior to its retailer launch.

“People respond really differently to seaweed as it is quite unknown. Since it’s a new product, you need familiar words to describe it taste-wise, but that’s difficult.”

The winning words were “umami master” for the Weed Burger, “smokey sausage” for the Weed Dogg, accompanied by the company’s motto “Eat Weed Live Long.”

To further familiarize the products, scanning an on-pack QR-code yields a range of preparation tips and recipes. 

The Weed Dogg makes for a vegan sausage alternative for traditional Dutch stamppot.No target consumers
Representing brand name and identity is “easier with a food truck at a festival than with a retail package,” Kulsdom explains.

When asked how the packaging design represents the product range and its target consumers, Kulsdom replies:

“We don’t have target consumers. I think it’s degrading to simplify real people into consuming archetypes. In the case of vegan food, it doesn’t work because people make choices based on their morals and ethics. That is not limited to certain target groups.”

Not that kind of weed burger...
Considering the Netherlands is known for its cannabis culture, The Dutch Weed Burger has seen many consumers over the years confuse its “weed burgers” with marijuana-enriched patties. 

“When someone came up to us at festivals, we used to say, ‘Yeah man, we [use marijuana in our burgers], but the organization confiscated all those burgers. We do have some burgers left with seaweed, though,’” the company muses.

By Anni Schleicher