Kerrymaid celebrates launch of Vegan Slices with top tips on how to make the most from vegan

Kerrymaid celebrates launch of Vegan Slices with top tips on how the foodservice industry can make the most from vegan

2 June 2021: Kerrymaid’s virtual launch event, “Up Your Vegan Game”, on Thursday 27th May revealed key insights into the trend towards plant-based lifestyles and the opportunities this presents to the foodservice industry.

David Cullen, CEO at Opinions Market Research, revealed the plant-based market will be worth €8bn by 2027, a rise of 5.9% from 2019, according to ReportLinker.

The event was held to celebrate the launch of Perfect Melt Vegan Slices, a plant-based alternative to cheese aimed solely at professional kitchens. With more consumers demanding vegan options, this new product from Kerrymaid allows the pub & leisure, catering, hospitality and foodservice industries to offer a tasty dairy alternative.

Cullen provided the following consumer insights about the growing vegan category:

• More than a fifth (22%) of consumers consume non-dairy cheese weekly or more often 1

• 43% of plant-based cheese buyers believe there are not currently enough options to choose from 2

• 27% plant-based cheese buyers believe the current options are a compromise over the dairy-based alternatives. 3 In terms of what consumers want; better taste, texture and a wider range were the top three reasons, and they were also the main reasons why consumers are not using vegan cheese currently.

Kerrymaid’s Vegan Slices is the first vegan slice on slice product for the foodservice industry that tastes, looks and melts like the original.

Therese O’Rourke, Chief Technology Officer, RD&A, Kerry Taste & Nutrition, Europe & Russia revealed Kerrymaid Vegan Slices beat its competitors in taste tests and mouth feel. The product is made from a roll like original cheese slices which means it’s more malleable than existing vegan cheeses which tend to be made from a block and can be quite brittle. Sam Platt, Head of the Vegetarian Society cookery school, provided advice on creating a vegan menu and making it work within professional kitchens. She covered storage, preparation and cooking. She also included tips on how to sell plant-based dishes, such as using positive descriptive language and including visual signs on menus.

Then Biff Burrows, chef & founder of Biff’s, talked about the challenges of being a plant-based consumer and provided his top tips for success, such as including vegan starters and looking at ‘veganising’ the best-selling dishes.

The event finished off with a live cooking demo with Kerrymaid Vegan Slices, courtesy of Richard Troman, Senior Innovation & Application Chef, Kerrymaid.

The product is specifically for use on hot applications such as burgers, subs, wraps and sandwiches and Troman showed how easy the slices are to peel and use in cafes, restaurants and QSRs. He demonstrated on a range of products including burgers and vegan chicken from Kerry-owned Naked Glory products.