Redefine Meat and Best Meister team up for world’s largest blind testing of alternative meat
One of Redefine Meat’s Alt-Steak products: a full rib-eye cut.
Israeli Alt-Meat innovator, Redefine Meat, has revealed the unprecedented success of the largest-scale public blind-tasting of alternative meat (Alt-Meat) products targeting meat-eaters. Conducted recently with high-quality Israeli meat distributor, Best Meister, the companies launched a food truck concept named “There’s a new meat in town” (see video). Following an overwhelming response from the public, Redefine Meat has formed a strategic partnership with Best Meister, who will distribute the company’s Alt-Meat products commercially to Israeli restaurants and high-end butchers in the first half of 2021.
First-of-its-kind large-scale blind test
Redefine Meat and Best Meister’s food truck served over 600 customers with Alt-Meat in less than five hours.
The two companies set up a carnivore-branded food truck in a small suburb of Tel-Aviv (Kidron, Israel), targeting up to 200 tastings in two days. The truck boasted staple Mediterranean meat foods, cooked to order, which were in fact Alt-Meat provided by Redefine Meat. Putting the meat experience truly to the test, the meat was served with little to no condiments or extras – focusing consumer senses entirely on the Alt-Meat’s appearance, flavour and texture. Driven purely by customer satisfaction and word of mouth, over 600 visitors attended the food truck and purchased close to 1000 servings of meat – selling out in less than five hours. Upon revelation that the meat products were plant-based, consumer feedback demonstrated overwhelmingly that the Alt-Meat products were comparable to animal meat on key metrics such as taste, texture, and mouthfeel – with over 90% acceptance rate. All revenue from the event was donated to support local restaurants badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Eshchar Ben-Shitrit, CEO and co-founder of Redefine Meat comments: “We believe Alt-Meat should taste as good as animal meat – simple as that. Redefine Meat has achieved that with every product it has put to the test, transitioning the Alt-Meat conversation from health and sustainability and the view that ‘this is really close’ to ‘wow this meat is super delicious’. The incredible results of the food truck exemplify this. We initially only expected 100 visitors a day, as the event was held in a small village due to Covid-19 restrictions. But through word of mouth, we ended up receiving over 600 customers in one day – with queues as long as 50 minutes. What this has shown is that meat lovers can enjoy our alternative meat because it tastes and feels like meat – not solely because it is better for the environment or animals.”
The success of the pilot test marks a historic moment for Redefine Meat, playing a pivotal role in the formation of a strategic partnership with Best Meister. Renowned for high-quality meat products, Best Meister will provide Redefine Meat the go-to-market infrastructure and reach to launch in the Israeli culinary sector. Best Meister will start commercially distributing Redefine Meat’s Alt-Meat products to restaurants and high-end butcher shops within H1/21.
Ori Zaguri, Best Meister CEO, comments: “We’ve been excited by Redefine Meat’s unique alternative meat offering for a while, but the food truck event cemented it for us. Not only was consumer feedback overwhelmingly positive but Redefine Meat’s technology will also provide us the scale to create a wide-variety of quality meat cuts for our customers on-demand from one single source. We believe the mass meat-eater market is ready for alternative meat of this quality and we are excited to be the first to deliver it to them.”
Ben-Shitrit adds: “We’re honoured to be partnering with Best Meister, whose deep market expertise and reach will enable us to successfully launch our alternative meat in Israel. We have spent almost three years perfecting our products to ensure meat lovers never have to compromise on the experience they enjoy and love. Today, we take one step closer to making that a commercial reality.”
In July 2019, Redefine Meat unveiled the world’s first Alt-Steak products using industrial digital manufacturing of plant-based ingredients. Created using the company’s novel and patented technology, Redefine Meat products have the texture, flavor and appearance of beef, and can be produced in the volume and cost required for large-scale commercial markets.
For more information on the event and Redefine Meat, visit: www.redefinemeat.com.
