Ulrick & Short launches 'complex ZERO' plant-based alternative ingredient

Ulrick & Short has launched a new plant-based alternative ingredient, 'complex ZERO'. It is conceptually new to the market, offering a completely new alternative eating experience for consumers.

The plant-based substitute market is evolving. Consumers are increasingly favoring natural alternatives, with 54% of consumers now wanting plant-based products to be authentic standalone products, moving away from ‘imitations’ trying to mimic the taste and texture of meat and fish.

With a growing spotlight on label declarations and overprocessing, consumers attitudes are too shifting to simplified, natural and authentic plant-based alternatives – with many actively avoiding long and unfriendly label declarations.

To that end, complex ZERO is a natural, clean and highly nutritious solution, sourced from Sweden. It is based only on three whole crops and upcycled rapeseed and using natural process methods – ensuring an ultra-clean and consumer friendly back-of-pack declaration.

complex ZERO is locally grown and produced in Sweden, meaning a minimal environmental footprint, with only 0.81kg of CO2 emissions produced per kg of complex ZERO  – for comparison, this is 40 times less CO2 emissions produced than beef per kg.

Additionally, the new ingredient is naturally rich in protein and fibers, and contains 70% less fat and 94% less saturated fat when compared with standard 20% fat beef mince, making it appropriate for healthy reformulation and can greatly assist in achieving HFSS compliance.

complex ZERO is both easy to use and an incredibly versatile ingredient. It’s texturally similar to mince, and provides a sweet, buttery and nutty flavor profile. It’s appropriate for a broad range of product applications, from savoury bakery fillings – such as pies and pastries, ready meals such as bolognese and lasagnes, as well as formed-meat substitute products, and even snacking and performance food applications.

“The development of complex ZERO was borne out of a desire to provide a nutritious and clean genuine alternative to enable plant-based NPD to evolve and not require ingredients with un-consumer friendly declarations such as methylcellulose to mimic a specific textural property,” commented Ulrick & Short R&D Manager, Danni Schroeter. "The localized sourcing of complex ZERO make it inherently sustainable, both in terms of future production, but also a vastly reduced carbon footprint when compared not just with meat products, but also other plant-based products and ingredients.”