Moving Mountains launches vegan burger, hot dog with fake meat that bleeds

A brand new burger and hot dog brand is launching in Australia after developing a cult following across Europe and England.

The founder of a plant-based meat empire launching on Australian shores today says the agriculture industry is “insane” and “defunct” and has pledged to help revolutionise food production around the world.

Moving Mountains boss Simeon Van der Molen said the business had rapidly grown in two years’ operation in Europe into a $180 million empire.

The company has relied on thorough research and development to produce replica hot dogs and burger patties that are so real it even bleeds through the presence of beetroot juice.

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Mr Van der Molen challenges enthusiasts to try the hot dogs, in particular, to see if they can tell the difference between it and the meat variety thanks to a very special ingredient.

“I’d like to say it was my invention but it wasn’t actually, it was a colleague of mine in research and development that suggested we work in sunflower seeds,” he told news.com.au.

“Actually, I thought he was bonkers to be honest.

“But that’s what we like. We like bonkers people because they come up with these crazy ideas.”

Sunflower seeds do the trick.

The founder said the use of the ingredient was an “absolute revelation” and had helped the company stand out in a burgeoning industry.

“I know a lot of companies say this, but it really is a very close replication and you just cannot tell the difference,” he said.

“We tried with different proteins like soy, wheat and none of them were really working really well until we stumbled across sunflower seeds.

“No one else has anything like this in the world.”

Moving Mountains will be sold exclusively through Woolworths supermarkets and featured in store at Henry’s Burgers in Melbourne’s inner north.

But it already has plans to extend that business to Sydney.

Mr Van der Molen says the patties even bleed.

Mr Van der Molen said Australia’s east coast rivals top markets for vegetarian products in London and California.

The company had harvested a strong following in Europe through a successful strategy of limiting its access to a handful of exclusive venues, he said.

“You want to build demand and we were the first plant-based burger of its type to launch in Europe before any other from America,” the founder said.

“People had to travel two hours, three hours, four hours on the train to come down and try the product.

“We wanted to be the product that people had to travel to try and they went back and told their friends, ‘Wow, have you tried this?’

“As opposed to being readily available absolutely everywhere.”

Plant-based alternatives seem to be having their time in the sun at present, with even Hungry Jack’s offering a vegan burger.

But Mr Van der Molen insists the market isn’t crowded

“If you add all the sales from all over the world, plant-based meat is not even scratching the surface of what animal protein is doing,” he said.

“There needs to be a lot more companies and a lot more factories all doing this in order for the market to grow.

“So there isn’t yet enough competition when you compare it to how many beef farmers you have in Australia.”

Woolworths director of fresh Paul Harker said the supermarket giant has experienced an increasing number of customers incorporating vegetarian and vegan products into their diets.

“This has driven double digit growth in demand for vegan products in the past year, and we’re working to create even more choice and variety for our customers with a range of innovative suppliers,” he said.

Can’t go wrong with a bit of mustard.

Aussies love their beer and burger combos.

The Moving Mountains founder said he was committed to developing the industry because it was time to “give back to the planet”.

“The way I want to give back is by changing the whole animal agricultural system which is archaic, defunct and just does not work anymore with the population we have,” Mr Van der Molen said.

“It would work if there was only one billion people on the planet, but when you’re heading towards nine billion people, the system’s insane.”

He said a traditional beef burger took two years and nine months to be made when factoring in the insemination period.

“Which is a ridiculous amount of time to have to wait to get 1000 kilos of beef and all the resource, all the water, all the food, all the healthcare, all the attention that cows have to receive,” the businessman said.

“The whole food system all around the world needs to change, and we need to be less reliant on animals.

“I think it’s the future. We can no longer continue producing CO2 the rate we’re producing it.

“This is just the beginning.”

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