Dutch Retailer Jumbo Swaps Gelatin in Pastries for Plant-Based Alternatives – vegconomist

Dutch retailer Jumbo has removed gelatin from all its fresh pastries, replacing the animal-derived ingredient with plant-based alternatives. The chain claims to be the first in the Netherlands to make the change.

Modifying the recipes took 18 months, with solutions varying depending on the product. For example, the tompouce — a popular cream-filled iced pastry — now contains alginate and gellan gum instead of gelatin.

While many of the pastries still contain dairy or eggs, the recipe changes will reportedly reduce the amount of gelatin used by Jumbo by 13,000 kilograms per year, as well as making the products suitable for vegetarians. The reformulated pastries have received very positive feedback on taste and quality after being tested by consumers, and are now available at all 700 Jumbo stores in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Promoting plant-based eating

The news comes after Jumbo announced in October that it aimed to make 60% of its protein sales plant-based by 2030. The chain said this would be a “major task” and would require a tightening of policies to promote sales of plant-based products.

Just a month later, Jumbo dropped the prices of its private-label plant-based meat alternatives to achieve parity with their animal counterparts, following a range of similar initiatives by other European retailers. The chain noted that high prices are often an obstacle for consumers who want to reduce their meat consumption.

“We want to help our customers choose plant-based or vegetarian products more often,” said Anrico Maat, Retail Director of Jumbo, at the time. “By adjusting prices now, we hope to make the choice even easier for customers.”