The Vegetarian Butcher and Düzgün Group Launch Plant-Based Kebab Skewer for Food Service

It is halal-certified and lactose-free, suitable for vegans, vegetarians, and flexitarians. The product is already available for distribution. “Hacking meat icons like the döner kebab with plant-based equivalents is what it is all about for us.

We are targeting meat lovers – from vegans to carnivores – who don’t want to miss out,” explains Hugo Verkuil, CEO of The Vegetarian Butcher. © Unilever An exciting challenge The plant-based kebab “took significant development,” explains Bart van de Ree, R&D developer at The Vegetarian Butcher. Its formulation combines soy, a blend of fats with different melting characteristics, and binders, to deliver the right texture for a “perfectly” grilled, juicy, and thinly sliced meat.

To deliver the flavour of the traditional grilled meat the method includes cumin, oregano, garlic, and onion. Using food tech and plant proteins, The Vegetarian Butcher offers a range of products for retail and food service, including, beef slices , chicken breast, nuggets, bacon , and burger patties. “The development was an exciting challenge: döner kebab is a unique product with a long tradition.

The joint development cleared us to understand and then mimic all the culinary aspects of the kebab: the savour, the texture, the slicing and shaving as well as the grilling behaviour,” van de Ree adds. © Unilever A stand-alone addition According to The Vegetarian Butcher, over half of Germany’s street food outlets are döner kebab shops selling over €2.4 billion of sandwiches annually. A YouGov poll points to the döner kebabs overtook currywurst as Germany’s most popular street food.

And in Europe, 400 tonnes of kebabs are sold daily, mainly exported from Germany, bringing in revenues of up to €12 billion a year. By offering a plant-based alternative, European shoppers will have an accessible option at fast food joints and restaurants and meatless kebabs could become mainstream, argue the firms.

The buying interest for plant-based kebabs keeps growing, especially in Germany, where 42% of people are trying to reduce meat consumption . “The plant-based kebab is a great extension of our existing product range. It is not an alternative but rather a stand-alone addition to our range.

Per to We cannot wait to distribute the first skewers to our shoppers,”, fevzi Düzgün, CEO of The Düzgün Group.