We’ve told before about Israeli foodtech startup Redefine Meat, an alternative meat developer that successfully 3D printed a beef-like plant-based steak. Following the alt-steak success, the company, which promised to hit the market in 2021, conducted the largest scale public blind tasting test in an effort to focus its meat-like prowess on the carnivores in the crowd.

“There’s a new meat in town”

In collaboration with high-quality Israeli meat distributor, Best Meister, Redefine Meat launched a food truck, in a Tel Aviv suburb, called “There’s a new meat in town”.

The culinary partnership focused on putting the Israeli company’s alt-meat product to the test. The experiment was set up targeting up to 200 tastings over 2 days. Displayed as a typical Mediterranean menu, Redefine Meat changed out the standard beef products for the company’s alternative offering. The dishes were served with little to no condiments or sides, in order to focus consumer experience on the meat’s appearance, flavor, and texture.

Redefine noted that there were no previous marketing campaigns or advertisements preparing people for the experience. It was customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth that brought the alt-meat shack over 600 visitors during the blind taste test.

According to Redefine, after revealing their customers to the truth behind the plant-based meat, consumer response was overwhelming when comparing the Israeli startup’s product to real off-the-bone meat. One time, the company reported selling out of servings in less than 5 hours. And don’t think that this blind taste test that’s foretelling the future of “plant-based carnivores” was just to prove a point - All the revenue from the alt-meat mission went to support the local restaurants affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eshchar Ben-Shitrit, CEO and Co-Founder of Redefine Meat said that he is looking at “....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."

Partnering to bring Alt-Meat to the masses

Other than the food truck endeavor, Redefine Meat has formed a long-term strategic partnership with Best Meister, which will lead restaurant and high-end butcher distribution in Israel.

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."