Planteneers develops additional product concepts for Handtmann Systems

For a year now, plant-based specialist Planteneers and filling and portioning system manufacturer Handtmann have been collaborating to enable customers to offer plant-based steaks or filet strips with fine marbling and an authentic fibrous structure. To maximize the potential of this technology, the product range has been expanded to include cost-optimized steak varieties, bacon, cooked ham, and carpaccio. Planteneers will showcase the cost-optimized steak at this year’s IFFA in Frankfurt (Booth C89 in Hall 11.0), the world’s leading trade fair for technology in meat, which this year also has a focus on alternative proteins.

“After the launch last year, we received highly positive feedback on our offerings,” said Florian Bark, Senior Product Manager at Planteneers. “The quality of the plant-based steaks, with their marbling and fine fiber structure, was well received by customers. This led to requests for further options. We responded by developing new applications for the marbling unit.” Planteneers now utilizes European-grown soy protein for the cost-optimized steaks, replacing fava beans and peas. With fiildMeat P-series functional systems and Handtmann machines, manufacturers can offer plant-based alternatives to traditional rump steak and filet.

In developing three additional applications, Planteneers concentrated on products with high sales potential in European markets. The outcome is plant-based alternatives to bacon and cooked ham, both widely popular, along with plant-based carpaccio, which adds further variety. “With these additional applications, our customers now have much greater flexibility in designing their product lines,” added Bark.

Manufacturers can create these products using fiildMeat P and fiildMeat S system solutions from Planteneers, along with a forming and marbling unit compatible with Handtmann filling and portioning systems. This flexible coextrusion system enables the production of customized plant-based products. The final product’s size, shape, and fat layer definition can be tailored to specific customer requirements. Depending on the fat ratio and machine settings, asymmetrical fat marbling is possible, allowing for both coarse fat structures and fine fat marbling, either together or separately.

A key advantage of this technology is its high output capacity. Unlike 3D printing methods, the Handtmann system achieves a throughput of over a tonne per hour. This allows manufacturers to produce large volumes of plant-based steak and cold cut alternatives, effectively meeting demand from major retail and food-service partners.