Ingredient brands ready to feed demand with ‘Vegan Approved’ range
Ingredient specialist Cooks&Co is urging foodservice operators to make sure they are stocking up on vegan-friendly options in order to satisfy the fast-changing consumer demand for plant-based alternatives free from meat or dairy.
The brand – which offers a Vegetarian Society ‘Vegan Approved’ promise across a host of products – warns that caterers need to keep pace with retail trends as the UK widens the reach of the hospitality sector from Monday 17th May.
To help them meet that demand, the company is flagging an anticipated growth in demand for a number of key plant-based and vegan-friendly ingredients, as well as introducing new products to its range and offering recipe inspiration for caterers.
First up is Cooks&Co’s Vegan Green Pesto, which was off to a flying start in foodservice and hospitality following its pre-Covid launch at the start of last year. Made from a mix of basil and sunflower seeds to bring a rich and distinctive flavour to pasta, this versatile and delicious pesto can also be used in a host of dishes including everything from a green pesto minestrone, veggie pesto lasagne, a focaccia dip or a rustic pesto pizza, to Cooks&Co’s hero pesto serve – Pesto & Vegan Cheese Risotto (see left).
Meanwhile, Cooks&Co is adding to its growing portfolio of plant-based meat replacements, adding NEW Lotus Root alongside Jackfruit and Banana Blossom. The stem of the lotus plant, Lotus Root has a mild sweet nutty flavour and crunchy texture making it perfect for adding to stir fries and curries. It’s also great in salads, soups, and stews, or even straight out of the can. It is Vegan Approved and contains no artificial flavours, colours, or preservatives.
Anne-Marie Cannon, Senior Brand Manager for Cooks&Co at brand owner and distributor RH Amar, explains: “The meat-free and plant-based dairy categories have doubled in size in retail over the past five years[1] and pre-Covid we were already beginning to see an exponential demand among consumers dining out for plant-based options.
“As such, we feel confident that ingredients such as Jackfruit, our new Lotus Root, and our Vegan Green Pesto have now become must stocks for any professional kitchen looking to cater for this fast-growing plant-based and vegan audience.”
To help caterers meet this demand, Cooks&Co is offering a host of plant-based recipe inspiration @ https://cooksandco.co.uk/pages/recipes
[1] Kantar 52 w/e 4 Dec 2016 vs 29 Nov 2020
Comments are closed.