Veganuary: Try this ‘completely revolutionary’ vegan steak
Producers of meat alternatives are using Veganuary to promote their latest products, including this flank steak, which is coming to London supermarkets this year
Vegan burgers that bleed like meat and Richmond sausages that surely must be meat (but aren’t) have become a part of our daily lives, as vegan food finds its way increasingly into our diets.
But producers have been struggling to recreate the textures and mouthfeel of a high-quality steak. One new product is attempting to change that. Redefine Meat’s flank steak, which looks as convincingly like the real thing as anything we’ve seen, will be available in London supermarkets from April.
At the moment the Redefine Meat vegan flank steak is only available in some top London restaurants, including Le Petit Beefbar and Meraki, with an endorsement from lauded chef Marco Pierre White.
Refining the product has been a years-long task. UK managing director at Redefine Meat Simon Owen told City PM: “Quality and versatility are the biggest barriers to mainstream plant-based meat adoption. With our success in the hospitality market and penetrating the highest levels of the culinary world, we believe we can also disrupt the retail sector in a big way.
“Relentless ambition, innovation and perfectionism is why we’re bucking the market by continuing to grow..”
Read more: Veganuary restaurants in London: The best vegan food around
Around 4,000 restaurants serve Redefine Meat around the world, including their pulled pork, pulled beef, bratwurst, lamb kofta and beef mince products.
Le Petit Beefbar, the London steak restaurant stocking the Redefine Meat vegan flank, said traditionally only 1 or 2% of their dishes sold would be vegan, but now the vegan flank comprises 45% of their sales. “Guests are more curious and happy to discover a new way of eating meat substitutes,” said a spokesperson.
More than 700,000 Brits tried Veganuary last year, pledging to cut meat out of their diets for one month. Ten years old in 2024, Veganuary provides an opportunity for restaurants to experiment with menus; 820 new vegan products were introduced in 2023.
“Quality and versatility are the biggest barriers to mainstream plant-based meat adoption. With our success in the hospitality market and penetrating the highest levels of the culinary world, we believe we can also disrupt the retail sector in a big way. Key to achieving this are the right partners such as Ocado who stand for premium quality and can deliver to consumers nationwide.
“Our second phase, in-store retail will launch next year with the development of a brand-new chilled products range and widening our rapid expansion in food services in the UK and across Europe. Relentless ambition, innovation and perfectionism is why we’re bucking the market by continuing to grow.”