An untapped opportunity

The market opportunity for plant-based fish is clear. Consumers have already embraced plant-based meat and the prevalence of Marine Stewardship Council or ‘responsibly sourced’ statements on launches show that sustainability, the environment particularly, are the major concerns for consumers when shopping fish and shellfish foods. The only question has been whether brands can replicate the texture, taste, colour and aroma of fish.

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE

Solina has conclusively answered the question about the sensory properties of plant-based fish with our vegan tuna concept. The concept posed new challenges to NEXTERA®, an organisation with extensive experience of developing plant-based meats. With its flaky, soft bite and light, delicate colour and aroma, fish differs significantly from meat and the vegan tuna concept required a new approach.

NEXTERA® achieved the optimal flaky, soft fish-bite by applying wet extrusion to a selection of vegetable proteins. Through meticulous fine tuning, the team matched the texture to the fish gold standard and countered potential plant-based protein off-flavours to convincingly copy the taste and aroma. At the same time, the team watched closely to exclude and mitigate any unwanted interaction effects on texture or aroma that might arise during post-processing or heat treatment in the can.