Since the U.S. startup Beyond Meat entered the Ukrainian market in November, it has become much easier to eat consciously without having to give up the tempting taste of meat.
Locals can now enjoy juicy and filling meat-like patties and sausages while refraining from animal consumption and causing notably less harm to the environment than the meat industry.
Beyond Meat’s patties, using plant protein combined with fats, minerals and water, aim to address major global issues such as human health, climate change, depletion of natural resources and animal protection.
“We deliver the meaty experience you crave without the compromise,” the company’s website reads.
Stanislav Lutskovych, the co-founder of West Mills, the company that officially distributes Beyond Meat in Ukraine, says that demand for meat alternatives appeared in the country long ago.
“The market is ready for the product,” Lutskovych told the Kyiv Post. “There are many conscious meat consumers here.”
The options in Ukraine so far include patties and sausages, each costing Hr 270 (just under $11) for a set of two, and the company expects to add other Beyond Meat products this year.
Feeding the planet
Beyond Meat is one of the fastest-growing startups in the world.
Founded by U.S. clean energy expert Ethan Brown in 2009 on a growing wave of environmental awareness in the United States, the company soon received investments from heavy-hitters like Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates; Twitter co-founder Biz Stone; actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who advocates for climate change action; the U. S. Humane Society and a number of venture capital firms.
While Beyond Meat started producing plant-based chicken in 2013, the company shifted to beef substitutes later on and today manufactures patties, sausages, ground beef and beef crumbles.
Unlike some other meat alternatives on the market, Beyond Meat doesn’t use soy for production, and its ingredients contain no genetically modified organisms.
The patties contain roughly the same amount of protein as beef with much less fat by using peas, mung beans, fava beans and brown rice. The meat fats are replaced with cocoa butter and oil, sunflower oil and canola oil. The ingredients also include beet juice and apple extract, which add flavors and colors, as well as minerals like iron, salt, calcium and potassium chloride.
The company processes the mixture by heating, cooling and pressuring it until it reaches a texture, color, appearance and taste that imitates beef. One patty takes six minutes to cook, and even during pan-frying or grilling, it resembles beef in the way it sizzles and smells as its reddish juice oozes.
However, there is an ongoing conversation about the benefits of Beyond Meat’s products. Some dietitians question them, given that the meat substitutes are ultra-processed.
Those who eat more processed food are more likely to develop diseases and gain weight, and some dietitians point out that, while eating a Beyond Meat patty instead of a regular beef patty might be a good choice, switching to meat substitutes from a healthier option is highly questionable.
The health benefits of the products might be uncertain, but the company has one more ace up its sleeve.
According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, the global livestock industry releases 14.5% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
Beyond Meat, meanwhile, generates 90% less emissions, uses 46% less energy and has 99% less negative impact on water scarcity and 93% less effect on land exploitation than the meat industry.
“We believe there is a better way to feed the planet,” the startup’s website reads.
The combination of Beyond Meat’s advantages has quickly won it a wide audience in the U.S. and beyond. Today 58,000 grocery stores, eateries and hotels in 20 countries use the company’s products. That list includes some of the biggest restaurant chains in the U.S., including TGI Friday’s, Hardee’s and Subway, as well as grocery chains Publix and Target.
Beyond Meat is now working to manufacture plant-based steak and bacon to expand the number of options for conscious meat consumers.
Conquering Ukraine
Beyond Meat entered the Ukrainian market in November. Lutskovych, one of the two co-founders of the Ukrainian distribution firm for Beyond Meat, has vast experience in entrepreneurship as the founder of Toka, a chain of electric car charging stations.
Getting involved in another ecologically conscious business was a natural move, and Beyond Meat captured Lutskovych’s attention. His other business, a branding agency, conducted research that discovered a high demand for plant-based meat products in Ukraine.
“It was a perfect moment to enter the market,” Lutskovych said.
Given that plant-based meat is a new product in Ukraine, West Mills introduced the product in restaurants first. According to Lutskovych, people have to be educated first for them to want to buy a new product to cook at home.
“The perfect way to do it is for it to be cooked at quality restaurants with tasty recipes,” he said.
However, the company was soon approached by stores eager to add Beyond Meat to their shelves, so the distributor launched cooperation with retail faster than expected.
While the list of stores offering plant-based meat is dominated by those selling vegan or organic food, the products will soon hit the shelves at Silpo, one of the country’s largest grocery chains. And a couple more grocery giants are currently in negotiations to add Beyond Meat to their stores.
Today there are about 100 eateries and stores that buy products from West Mills. Most of the eateries that use Beyond Meat are located in Kyiv, with a few options in Odesa as well. And the list includes not only restaurants that serve vegan food, but also some unexpected spots.
One of them is Beef Meat & Wine, a high-end restaurant in central Kyiv that treats its customers with marble steaks and other high-quality meat.
While their whole concept is premised on the culture of meat-eating, the eatery’s chef, Oleksiy Shemenkov, says that their decision to use plant-based meat alternatives comes from a desire to please every customer.
“(We) could not overlook plant-based meat as an alternative for our guests, who temporarily or completely exclude real meat from their diet,” Shemenkov told the Kyiv Post. “In addition, the guests themselves expressed interest in the products.”
Ethical issues
Although companies like Beyond Meat are taking markets by storm, they are often criticized for the contradiction between their marketing approaches and the long-term goals. While plant-based products aim to transition from meat consumption, the products’ realistic taste and appearance might contribute to cravings for meat. And since meat products are still cheaper than their alternatives, some might yield to temptation.
However, others strongly disagree with such criticism. One of them is Alina Tsybulko, who co-owns the Nikoho Ne Yim vegan eatery, which uses Beyond Meat’s patties for burgers.
Tsybulko says that the vegan burgers they make are in high demand.
“It’s very tasty,” Tsybulko told the Kyiv Post. “People want to treat themselves to a delicious burger without having to eat animal meat or feel heaviness afterward,” she added.
The restaurateur notes that people who shift to veganism or vegetarianism mostly do it for ethical reasons, so it’s unlikely they will reverse because of tasting meat substitutes. However, for those whose diets include meat, Beyond Meat is also a good option, she adds.
“If you like burgers but you don’t like how the body behaves after that — digestion difficulties, heaviness in the stomach — then Beyond Meat will be a very good alternative.”
Get Beyond Meat products in Kyiv at: Eco-Lavka chain (22A Saksahanskoho St., 16 Mechnykova St. and others), Vegetus (27 Druzhby Narodiv Blvd., 10 Oleksandra Myshuhy St.), Vega Market (73/1 Peremohy Ave., 32 Petra Hryhorenka Ave.), Eko Svit (14 Sichovykh Strilrsiv St., 4V Parkovo-Syretska St.), Maosfood (12 Symona Petliury St.)
Try dishes with Beyond Meat products at these restaurants: Orang+Utan, The Burger Mexico, Altruist, Nikoho Ne Yim, Dogz&Burgerz, Hedonist, Mocco, Avalon, Bassano Ristorante, Star Burger, Dmytro Borysov’s restaurant family.
