Alternative protein developer SavorEat has added a robot chef to its team. The Israeli company will use the technology to manufacture custom meat alternatives. Part of a partnership with domestic hamburger chain BBB, the ‘chef’ will create purposefully made food items. Each will be designed according to customer nutrition specifications and 3D printed. They will then be cooked according to preference.
Limited BBB outlets will be offering the custom alternative burger option. Those that are taking part in the collaboration will offer consumers new insight into the way they eat. The launch will initially feature a meat-free burger. Plans to expand into wider meat alternatives are in motion.
Using SavorEat’s proprietary potato, pea, and chickpea protein source as a base, burgers can be tweaked by consumers. Fat and protein levels can be altered according to taste, using an app. The density of the finished product can be chosen as well.
“It’s a mix of innovation of meat alternative and digital manufacturing where we can also cook the product,” Racheli Vizman, SavorEat’s chief executive, told Reuters. “From the beginning, we believed that the food industry is in need of significant changes in order to remain relevant.
“We choose to boldly look at the changes of our future and to challenge the status quo in the food industry. Through the technology we have developed, we will be able to get to know our customers better, respect them and give expression to their changing needs.”
The burgers will be created by a robot chef. The machine will 3D print products in a closed system, creating ready-to-cook items that are allergen, GMO-, and gluten-free. The company claims that aligning closely to the experience of eating real meat remains a top priority. This is why real-time information and product composition information is saved to a secure cloud system. Information collection allows for easy recipe adjustment and offers key consumer insights. This is a unique model from other plant-based burgers that are supplied to foodservice outlets. They usually arrive as frozen and non-customisable items, ready to be ‘dressed’.
“The BBB Group’s values include innovation, excellence and a business mindset,” Ahuva Turgeman, BBB CEO said in a statement. “These values are reflected in the collaboration with SavorEat. The idea that for the first time ever, a customer can come to a meat-oriented hamburger restaurant, and with a push of a button on an app order a juicy, digitally manufactured, vegan burger is nothing short of revolutionary and creates an extraordinary and unforgettable experience.”
SavorEat has already announced that its custom 3D printing technology will find a home in U.S. universities. A partnership with Sodexo North America will see campus students able to customise their vegan burgers and enjoy them to order. Roll out will begin this year in a number of pilot schemes.Elsewhere, Chile’s NotCo continues to bring its AI-generated plant-based foods to market. The unicorn food tech unveiled its chicken range in December of last year. Most recently, it has made a pledge to develop seafood alternatives that will replace conventional salmon and tuna, in 2022. Having cemented its position within the alternative meats sphere, the company is now looking to the water for product development inspiration.
All images courtesy of SavorEat.
