How do these plant-based things taste good? The winners of the 2024 Plant-based Tasting Awards are here!

This article is FBIF food and beverage innovation original, Chinese editor: Yam Yam, reprint please contact the source.

On September 10, FoodBev announced the final winners of the Plant-Based Taste Awards 2024.

Plant-Based Taste Awards 2024

According to FoodBev, the Plant-based Tasting Awards, now in their fourth year, are designed to recognise more flavour and innovation in the international plant-based food and beverage industry, and are judged primarily on the basis of “product taste”, with entries being personally tasted and scored by a panel of judges made up of plant-based industry experts.

This year’s plant-based Tasting Awards have a more professional classification, from 18 awards in 2023 to this year’s 5 categories of 16 subcategories, while determining the best categories and subcategories. This year, reflecting the growing demand for diverse plant-based products within the industry, the new category “Foodservice Solutions” has been added to the award lineup to recognize companies that excel in producing plant-based products that not only have unique flavor but also versatility to meet the needs of foodservice establishments.

Plant-based Protein
Best Plant-based Protein. Best plant -based protein

Beyond Meat-Beyond Burger Jalapeno

Founded in 2009, Beyond Meat is one of the leading plant-based meat brands.

The winning product is the jalapeno flavor in Beyond Meat’s plant-based burger patties. According to the brand, the patties add Mexican black pepper to Beyond Meat’s classic plant-based burger patties, giving it a spicy flavor that looks and cooks like a traditional beef burger. The ingredients list shows that the main ingredients are water, pea protein (15%), rapeseed oil, seasoning, rice protein, coconut oil, dry yeast, etc.

Category Awards:
1, Best Burger. Best plant-based burger
Beyond Meat-Beyond Burger Jalapeno

At the same time also won the best in this category.

Finalist products:

Strong Roots-The Pumpkin and Spinach Burger

Verdino Green Foods-Verdino Protein Burger

2. Best plant-based Chicken
   Nasoya-Plantspired Plant-Based Chick’n Kung Pao Flavor

Nasoya, founded in 1978, is the No. 1 tofu brand in the United States, offering Asian flavors in addition to tofu, including dumplings and noodles, according to the brand’s official website.

The winning product is also an Asian flavor: a plant-based chicken nugget flavored with kung pao chicken. This is a convenience food, just stir in the pan to heat, add the sauce bag can be eaten. “Chicken nuggets” are made of non-GMO ingredients, mainly made of soybean protein, wheat starch, wheat protein and other plant proteins, each containing 45g of plant protein.

Finalist products:

Alpha Foods-Homestyle Chik’n Strips

UMIAMI-Umiami filet

3. Best plant-based Steak
   Steakholder-SH-Marbled Beef Steak

Steakholder Foods is a 3D bioprinting technology company that develops 3D printed meat, fish and protein, and provides 3D bioprinting machinery, software and materials, as well as innovative solutions.

According to the brand, Steakholder uses 3D printing technology to precisely control the deposition of plant ingredients, creating a complex texture that closely resembles traditional meat. In this steak, soy, peas and other legumes provide the characteristic chewiness and texture of beef, while restoring the flavor and nutrition of traditional steaks with high-quality vegetable proteins, natural fats and seasonings.

Finalist products:

Beyond Meat-Beyond Steak

Nasoya-Plantspired Plant-Based Steak Korean BBQ Flavor

4. Best Mince of plant-based meat
   Fry’s-Shape&Sizzle Mince

According to FoodBev, Fry’s Shape&Sizzle Mince is made from non-GMO soybeans and is high in protein, low in saturated fat, and high in fiber. The product is sold frozen and retails for £2.50 per 300g pack.

This ground meat can be made into meatballs, burgers, meatballs and other similar foods, as well as into classic ground meat dishes such as spaghetti bolognese and lasagna. Emma Herring, head of marketing at Fry’s, said: “Shape&Sizzle Mince is the first shapeable plant-based mince in a UK supermarket. During the product development process, a blind test panel of more than 100 plant-based product consumers rated the product as the best choice compared to other popular plant-based mince products.”

Finalist products:

Verdino Green Foods-Verdino Protein Mince

5, Best Kabab/Kafta Best plant-based meatballs/kebabs
Switch Foods-Switch Plant-based Kafta

Kafta is a Lebanese specialty kebab, usually made with ground beef, parsley, Onions, and other spices. Switch Plant-based Kafta is mainly made from pea protein, sunflower oil, coconut oil, onion, coriander, pea fiber and other ingredients, 120g calories per serving of 240 calories, fat and protein content of 16g.

Finalist products:

Switch Foods-Switch Plant-based Kabab

ADM-Plant-Based Pulled Pork with Soprotex® N-Slices

A: Dairy Alternative

Best Dairy Alternative. Best dairy alternative

Arla JOR d -Chilled Oat Barista

Arla Foods is the world’s largest producer of organic dairy products, headquartered in Denmark.

Arla JOR D -Chilled Oat Barista is a foamable oat drink designed for coffee and other hot drinks that contains vitamin D and folic acid and is pasteurized. The brand says it withstands high temperatures and produces a lot of foam, making it an ideal plant-based dairy choice for lattes, cappuccinos and other espresso drinks.

Category Awards:

1. Milk alternative
   Arla JOR d -Chilled Oat Barista

At the same time also won the best in this category.

Finalist products:

Arla JOR d -Chilled Oat Drink

Arla JOR D -Chilled Oat & Vanilla Drink

MYOM-Original Oat

2. Best Yogurt, plant-based yogurt
   ADM-Plant-Based Drink with HT-ES1 Postbiotic and ProFam® Pea 580

The ES1 (Bifidobacterium longidum CECT 7347) probiotic and its Heat-treated (HT-ES1) epigenome is ADM’s proprietary probiotic and epigenome product that has been demonstrated in preclinical and clinical studies to be effective in supporting intestinal and overall digestive health. ProFam® Pea 580 is an ADM proprietary pea protein with excellent solubility, emulsification and gelling properties for use as a dairy substitute.

Finalist products:

Arla JOR d -Strawberry Oat Based Fermented Product

Arla JOR d -Vanilla Oat Based Fermented product

Plant-based Sweet Product. Plant-based sweet product
Best Plant-based Sweet Product. Best plant -based sweet product

Booja-Booja-Raspberry Scrunch Chocolate Wonders

Booja- Founded in 1999, Booja’s main products are plant-based chocolate and ice cream free of dairy and animal fats.

Booja-Booja-Raspberry Scrunch Chocolate Wonders is a chocolate raspberry ganache coated with caramel crunches and dark chocolate flakes. The ingredients list shows that the main ingredients are cocoa liquid blocks, cocoa butter, vanilla powder, coconut oil, cane sugar, freeze-dried raspberries, coconut syrup, etc. The brand says they are all pure plant-based, gluten-free, soy free, palm oil-free, and have about 607 calories per 100g of energy and 5g protein.

Category Awards:

1. Best Chocolate
   Booja-Booja-Raspberry Scrunch Chocolate Wonders

At the same time also won the best in this category.

Finalist products:

NOMO-Coconut Bar

2, Best Selection Box. Best selection box
NOMO-Ultimate Sharing Box

A Selection Box is a boxed gift containing a variety of edible items, usually chocolate. NOMO Ultimate Sharing Box is a plant-based mini chocolate bar gift box that comes in 4 flavors: cream, caramel, mint and Orange Crunch. The main ingredients are sugar, cocoa butter, rice flour (dry rice syrup, rice starch, rice flour), cocoa liquid block, inulin, shea butter, etc.

3, Best Confectionery. Best confectionery
Snacksy-Raw Bar Berry & Almond with Ginkgo Biloba

Finalist products:

Holland & Barrett-H&B Brownie Bites With Benefits

4, Best Sweet snack
ADM-Plant-based Protein Bar with ProFam® Soy and Pea Proteins

ADM offers a versatile and versatile portfolio of soy protein isolates and pea protein powders. The ProFam® Pea Protein Powder and MaxFlex™ pea protein blend families offer different properties and applications. The winning product is a plant-based protein bar with ADM soy protein isolate and pea protein powder

Plant-based Savoury Product. Plant-based savoury product
Best Plant-based Savoury Product. Best plant -based savoury product

Best Savoury Bakery Best savoury Bakery

Lika Bakery-Plant Based Flatbread

Flatbread is usually made with flour, water, milk, yogurt or other liquid, and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into a flat dough. Lika Bakery is a Dutch bakery that specializes in Lebanese flat breads made from ingredients sourced locally in the Netherlands. It offers flat breads in five flavors: whole wheat, white plain, carrot, spinach, and beetroot, all with colors derived from the ingredients and the vegetables themselves.

Plant-based Prepared Product. Plant-based prepared product
Best Plant-based Prepared Product. Best plant -based prepared product

Alpha Foods-Chik’n Fajita Burrito

It’s a vegan grilled chicken burrito with dairy-free spicy cheddar cheese, Onions and peppers, and casta sauce. Each serving of 142g calories is 310 calories, the protein content is 11g, and contains calcium, iron, potassium and other elements.

Category Awards:

1. Best Beverage is plant based
   Holland&Barrett-H&B Glow Kombucha

Holland&Barrett’s Glow Kombucha is infused with ginseng extract and comes in three flavors: Mango Pomelo, pineapple Ginger juice, and cucumber mint. The winning flavor is cucumber Mint.

2, Best Foodservice solution
Tea Eats-Tea Pesto-Chili

According to the brand, this is a tea pesto sauce made up of ready-to-eat fermented tea leaves with a natural, earthy flavor and pungency, and a fermentation process that lasts for months causes it to naturally produce important nutrients such as antioxidants, fiber, calcium, potassium and iron. The sauce can be used in creative dishes such as tea-flavored salads and tea-flavored hummus.

3. Ready meal
   Alpha Foods-Chik’n Fajita Burrito

At the same time also won the best in this category.

4, Best Vegetable-based product
Strong Roots-The Pumpkin and Spinach Burger

This is a pre-made vegan pumpkin and spinach burger, frozen with squash, spinach and other mixed vegetables, coated with quinoa and gluten-free breadcrumbs, low in saturated fat and sugar. Serve deep fried or heated in the oven.