Plant-based seafood analogs debut in Europe for “Veganuary”

Plant-based seafood analog suppliers are gaining new access to foodservice outlets and debuting new products across Europe to celebrate "Veganuary."

Berlin, Germany-based Betta!Fish debuted TU-NAH Pizza this month, after rolling out TU-NAH, the first plant-based tuna analog made from seaweed and fava beans, earlier this year.

“Pizza Tonno is an Italian classic and a strong-selling product across Europe. So far, there is no comparable product on the German market, which is why we already get a strong demand for our BettaF!sh Pizza TU-NAH,” Betta!Fish Co-founders Jacob von Manteuffel and Deniz Ficicioglu told SeafoodSource.

The company first launched the TU-NAH pizza in retail, “but we are open to provide the product to gastronomy partners as well,” von Manteuffel and Ficicioglu said. “For now, we have successfully tested our gastronomy products TU-NAH Base and TU-NAH Creamy with some restaurants in Germany.”

Over the coming months, Betta!Fish will launch additional sandwich varieties into the European market, as well as vegan wraps and four TU-NAH Spreads, “offering the consumer a whole new snacking and cooking experience,” the co-founders said.

In related news, Starbucks locations in the United Kingdom recently debuted a Tu’NAH Sandwich from the Vegetarian Butcher, the plant-based analog supplier announced. The sandwich combines plant-based analog “tuna-style flakes” with red onion, cucumber, rocket, lemon, horseradish, and vegan mayo, LiveKindly reported.

And in related news, Breda, the Netherlands-based Novish – which develops, produces and commercializes plant-based seafood analog products for the global retail and foodservice markets – has partnered with QSR platform SCA (QSRP), which operates seafood-focused fast-food chain Nordsee, which operates 370 locations, primarily in Germany and Austria. The first two Novish products to appear in Nordsee restaurants will be a Baked Fish Baguette and a Fish & Chips Dish, according to Vegconomist.

“Our strategic partnership will support both QSRP and Nordsee by adding new, innovative, and alternative products to Nordsee and Go! Fish menu offerings and is testament to our group’s effort to continue investment in innovation, sustainability, and platform growth,” Novish said in a press release.

Novish recently signed a distribution deal with Misty Mountain Trade & Consulting for its vegan fish burgers and sticks, which expands its reach into Canada.

“We’re delighted that we can now accelerate our growth trajectory in 2021 and 2022," Novish CEO Maiko van der Meer, who previously led shrimp specialist Klaas Puul, told Vegconomist. 

Photo courtesy of Betta!Fish