Ukrainian entrepreneur Andriy Cherukha can’t say no to meat because he enjoys the juicy and filling taste of this product. But wary of the harmful environmental impact of meat production, he’s decided to create a plant-based equivalent of meat with the same texture and flavor.
Cherukha founded Eat Me At in September to start producing ground meat of soy and potato proteins, coconut oil and beet juice for the Ukrainian market. The result — texture, color, odor, and taste that imitates the real beef.
Although the idea behind the plant-based meat is far from new — the first companies producing such a product started appearing in the U.S in 2016 — it has not yet become a food fad in Ukraine. Only a few local restaurants, mostly vegetarian or vegan, offer plant-based alternatives to animal meat, and it is still an expensive option.
The ground meat produced by the popular U.S. startup Beyond Meat, for example, costs nearly $35 per kilogram in Ukraine, while local Eat Me At sells one kilogram for less than $17.
At first, Cherukha’s goal was to make the plant-based ground meat less expensive than the ordinary meat, which is $5 per kilogram, but it is just more expansive to produce plant-based meat, he told the Kyiv Post.
Besides, the competition is weak in Ukraine and newly appeared companies like Beyond Meat can dictate prices. Cherukha is sure, however, it will change when the product becomes more popular.
“We are waiting for the competitors, so we can introduce (more) plant-based meat to the market together,” Cherukha said.
The ground meat produced by the Ukrainian company Eat me at contains soy and potato proteins, coconut oil and beet juice. Plant-based meat is the main ingredient in dozens of dishes like vegan sausages, meatballs, burgers, and tacos. (Eat Me At)
Quest for perfect taste
When Ukrainian Eat Me At entered the market, there had already been a dominant player — U.S. company Beyond Meat, a well-known company valued at $4 billion. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, actor Leonardo DiCaprio and popular fast-food chains like McDonald’s and KFC have invested in it.
Plant-based meat by Eat Me At has a different flavor and texture compared to Beyond Meat and other popular brands like Impossible Food, according to Cherukha, who put his own money to start the company.
“Of course, we looked up to successful colleagues from the U.S. but we also understood that we need to make a different product to win our own fans,” Cherukha said.
His quest for a perfect beef lasted two years: Cherukha traveled to the U.S. to talk to food technologists and experimented with different formulas — his goal was to create plant-based meat that would taste just like animal meat.
The meat contains soy proteins with novel ingredients added such as minerals from Koji, a traditional Japanese dietary fungus that gives plant-based meat a metallic aftertaste. To make its meat melt in the mouth, the company also uses coconut and sunflower oil, while natural dyes like beet juice and caramel give meat its texture and color — it oozes and sizzles when it’s fried or grilled.
Although the product has just entered the market, many consumers seem to like it.
Olena Baran, an animal activist from the Open Cages nonprofit, enjoyed the taste of Beefaroni and patties cooked with made-in-Ukraine vegan meat.
Baran gave up on animal meat 12 years ago and has tried to find more ethical alternatives to dairy and animal products since then. For example, she cooked patties made of chickpeas, soy, or peas. Though delicious, they don’t remind of the animal meat, while the patties made of Eat Me At mince imitate the real dish well. Even Baran’s non-vegetarian friends admitted the resemblance, she said.
Ukrainian company Eat Me At sells ground meat that can be used to mimic originally meat-based dishes. Patties made of plant-based meat ooze and sizzle when they are fried or grilled as if the made of the real beef.
Plant-based meat is the main ingredient in dozens of dishes like vegan sausages, meatballs, burgers, and tacos. Eat Me At sell ground meat that can be used in the recipes.
“As for now, we want to improve our single product — ground meat. And it seems that we can keep improving it forever,” Cherukha said.
Ethical option
The company doesn’t encourage becoming vegetarian or vegan but rather offers an alternative to the animal meat, the production of which causes harm to the environment, according to Cherukha.
The global meat consumption has reached 350 million tons a year and the demand is going up as the population keeps growing. It is detrimental to the environment because meat production is a large source of greenhouse gas emissions and requires more energy, land, and water than plant-based products.
Experts from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, however, agree that humans cannot simply give up on meat that sustains the livelihoods of at least 1.3 billion people worldwide. However, they can reduce consumption or find other alternatives, including plant-based meat.
Ukrainian Eat Me At claims that it doesn’t emit greenhouse gases and consumes less energy and water than real meat producers.
Like other popular vegan brands, the company believes that plant-based food is a better way to feed the planet given that its nutrition value is similar to animal products. For example, 100 grams of pork mince has nearly 300 calories, which is only slightly more than plant-based meat. The number of proteins and fats in the products is also similar, except that vegan meat has more carbohydrates.
Although the health benefits of plant-based meat are still uncertain, it is becoming more popular worldwide, including in Ukraine.
“Only time will show whether (plant-based meat) takes off in Ukraine, but I believe it will,” Cherukha said.
