Redefine Meat Launches at Ocado UK, Plans 2024 Retail Rollout of 3D Printed Flank – vegconomist

UK consumers can now purchase “new-meat” products made by Redefine Meat. The expansion marks the beginning of a larger retail rollout and the products are set to arrive in brick-and-mortar in 2024; this is “the first step in building a mass new-meat category in European retail with supermarkets to follow next year,” says the company.

Six products launched on Ocado yesterday: Redefine Pulled Beef and Pork, Redefine Lamb Kofta Mix, Redefine Premium Burgers, Redefine Beef Mince, and Redefine Bratwurst. The minced and pulled products are produced using “traditional meat production processes and ingredients that have been optimised by its R&D team, through the combination of materials science and meat science at a technology level,” explains a spokesperson, while the company’s whole cuts are produced using additive manufacturing, also referred to as 3D printed technology.

One of said printed whole-cuts, the company’s award-winning whole-cut beef flank (see featured image), will also be available in UK retail next year, bringing what could be the first premium 3D printed plant-based whole cuts directly to British consumers.

In Austria, consumers can already purchase 3D-printed seafood. This September, Revo Foods claimed the accolade of being the first 3d printed product to roll out into supermarket retail, when its printed mycoprotein-based salmon filet hit the shelves at the first BILLA vegan superstore.

In a vegconomist Q&A the following month, Revo’s founder Robin Simsa said, “The launch […] was a significant milestone for the whole meat alternative industry, as it showed people that this new 3D extrusion technology is not a far-fetched dream, but a reality that you can already buy in supermarkets.”

Next year’s projected retail rollout of the whole-cut flank, depending on the timing of the launch, could mark the first time this foodtech innovation becomes available in UK retail, though it is already available in several restaurants, and it will certainly be interesting to see the consumer response.

Moving from restaurants to retail

Redefine’s alt meat products have been endorsed by Michelin star chefs Marco Pierre-White, Alexis Gauthier, Robin Gill, and Ron Blaauw for their comparability to high-quality animal meat, and the products feature on menus at over 4,000 foodservice locations globally, from steakhouses to fine-dining restaurants and hotels. This week’s move into retail “follows growing demand from vegans, vegetarians and meat lovers alike for cook-at-home new-meat products,” according to the Israel-based producer.

Each retail offering, said to deliver the same taste and authentic meat-like texture of Redefine Meat’s acclaimed food service range for chefs, is delivered in smaller consumer-sized packs and sold straight from the freezer to reduce waste and provide a longer shelf life.

“We can disrupt the retail sector in a big way”

Redefine Meat’s UK Managing Director, Simon Owen, comments: “This first step into UK retail is part of our worldwide ambition to get as many people as possible eating our delicious plant-based meat that is kind to the planet and to animals. To achieve this, we have overcome the two biggest inherent barriers to mainstream adoption of plant-based meat: product quality and versatility. Following our success in the hospitality market by 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 launch within supermarkets will come next year with the development of a brand-new chilled products range. Relentless ambition, innovation and perfectionism are why we’re bucking the market by continuing to grow – why foodservice customers keep re-ordering, and why we receive hundreds of messages every week from consumers asking where they can buy new-meat so they can also enjoy it at home – now they can with Ocado.”

Says Olivia Small, Buying Manager at Ocado: “We’re pleased to be the first retailer in the UK to sell Redefine Meat to offer consumers new versatility and innovation in plant-based meat products.  With one of our key missions being to offer our consumers ‘unbeatable choice’, this range was a natural fit with our unrivalled range of premium products.”

Available now at Ocado are Redefine Pulled Pork; Redefine Pulled Beef; Redefine Bratwurst; Redefine Lamb Kofta Mix; Redefine Premium Burgers and Redefine Beef Mince – with prices ranging from £4.00 to £4.50 per pack.

Here you can read our recent interview with Redefine Meat’s Global Marketing Manager Ayala Meidan Rimoni.