The proof of the plant-based burger is in the eating. Okay, so maybe an update to that old saying won’t catch on, but eating plant-based meat is. While plant-based options are more sustainable to produce and better for the environment, they fail to mimic the all-important taste and texture of the real thing and are often accused of being flavorless and mushy. That’s keeping more consumers from adopting them into their diets. 

At Motif, we set out to fix that. We’re using our unique scientific approach and new food-tech—HEMAMI™ and APPETEX™—to revolutionize taste and texture in plant-based meat. Our food-design experts included our new food-technologies in a plant-based burger to test their performance with consumers. This kind of testing is an essential step in developing better technologies for our customers. 

Of course, testing with consumers during Covid is not without its challenges. So, how did we safely deliver our burgers to the brave gastronauts testing our food-tech?

Much like every other meeting that couldn’t be held in person over the past year, we took our focus group to Zoom! Plant-based burgers showcasing our technology were served to individuals who could share their experience while sitting safely by themselves in cozy Ohio conference rooms.

For our next focus group (and to escape the captivating conference rooms of Ohio), we built a ‘50s style Car Hop drive-in dining experience that would put even Grease to shame. Consumers could enjoy their food and share their thoughts on our technology from the comfort of their cars.

Lastly, we wanted to see how well our food-tech behaved in the wild. So we sent our showcase burger directly to consumers’ homes. In what can only be described as consumers pretending to be mukbang Youtube stars, they recorded their whole process of cooking and devouring our burger. (We sent all the fixings too, don’t worry.) 

How do you think our brave gastronauts fared exploring the road less-traveled of plant-based burgers? Well, the results are in. In the focus group, our showcase burger was well-liked and scored high in those important factors like flavor, juiciness, appearance, and burger-like texture. 

• 73% of core plant-based consumers preferred our showcase burger to 80/20 beef burger
• 63% said they preferred our showcase burger over a leading plant-based retail brand 
• One in three participants preferred our showcase burger over an 80/20 beef burger

I guess the proof of the plant-based burger really is in the eating.