v2food partners with Deliveroo for Meat Free Week

Some of the country’s most popular eateries are adding some unexpected new twists to their menus this week for a good reason.

A new food challenge will take over your social media feed this week – and participating could be as simple as ordering in.

World Meat Free Week is a global movement which challenges participants to test a plant-based diet for seven days.

It runs from June 15 to 21 this year, and in 2020 Aussie plant-based “meat” company v2food has paired up with meal delivery service Deliveroo to double the number of plant-based dishes available to customers.

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During the week, hundreds of top meaty dishes will be going plant-based with v2food, with Deliveroo increasing the number of plant-based dishes available by 120 per cent for the Meat Free Week challenge.

Deliveroo expects searches for plant-based dishes to skyrocket 430 per cent as Aussies join the movement.

According to v2food, from today, more than 70 “iconic” restaurants across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast – such as Royal Stacks, Hashtag Burgers, The Italian Bowl and Boss Burger – will be offering plant-based versions of their customers’ favourite meat dishes through Deliveroo.

Sydney institution The Italian Bowl is just one of scores of restaurants participating this week. Picture: Instagram/@theitalianbowl

v2food founder and CEO Nick Hazell told news.com.au Australia had been slightly behind the curve when meat-free lifestyles began to take off, but that we were now embracing the cause.

He said when he spoke at events, around two-thirds of the audience were actively trying to reduce their meat intake and that he believed the meat-free movement was “going to be as big in Australia as elsewhere”.

“Increasing animal meat production to feed a planet growing towards a population of 10 billion people isn’t sustainable. Thankfully, more and more people are looking for ways to reduce their meat consumption,” he said.

“People want to do this, but it has got to be easy, taste really good and be affordable. Unless it’s affordable with great-tasting options, a lot of people who dabble won’t stay in the category, and we’re here to fix that.

“People who love meat love us – our products are designed for meat lovers and there’s a real sense of momentum at the moment, with consumers opening their eyes to the implications of what they buy and eat.”

Mr Hazell said more and more people were reducing their meat consumption or ditching it altogether due to concerns about sustainability, nutrition and health and affordability.

In fact, a recent report found that Australian consumers spent an estimated $150 million on plant-based meat products in 2018-19 – but that the domestic market was expected to grow to almost $3 billion by 2030.

v2food is the company behind Hungry Jack’s popular meat-free Rebel Whopper burger, which tastes like the real thing but is made of legumes, sunflower oil and coconut fat.

Late last year, Mr Hazell said the company was set to become a “billion-dollar company” within years as the meat-free market exploded in popularity.

MEAT FREE WEEK

During Meat Free Week, participating restaurants will add meat-free versions of their popular meat dishes to the menu via v2mince and v2 burgers.

Selected restaurants are also giving away a free pack of v2mince and v2burgers so customers can cook their favourite meals at home.

Originally published as v2food partners with Deliveroo for Meat Free Week