Discover the "Shark Tank" startup that is transforming seaweed into vegan bacon

December 15th, 2022

As the environmental impact of industrial farming becomes increasingly clear, more people are choosing to become vegetarians or vegans. To meet the rising demand for sustainable food choices, manufacturers have created plant-based, or "fake," meats using a range of ingredients. While certain goods can be consumed by vegans, others include animal products like milk and eggs. The most intriguing of these are purely vegan mock meats. People refer to items that resemble meat products but are made of plants as "plant-based meat." These goods contain vegetarian substitutes for a wide varieties and cuts of meat.

Fortuitously today, the varieties of vegan products that customers can buy at shops and dining establishments are extremely diverse. For instance, a plant-based burger might just be a patty made of beans and mushrooms, or it might include seitan, soy, or pea protein to more closely resemble real meat in texture. But if people are prepared to be a little flexible, they might not have to give up their favourite carnivorous treat—bacon. Read on to know more about vegan bacon.

The presence of cultured bacon

Since a few years ago, a Dutch business has been developing cultured bacon, and New York-based MyForest Foods is making a bacon alternative from mushroom roots. Soon, a rival will entice consumers' palates with even another type, this one made with seaweed, an extremely unusual ingredient (though to be fair, mushroom root is a pretty unexpected source for imitation bacon too).

Why seaweed is an apt choice of core ingredient

Iodine, as well as other important nutrients and antioxidants, may be found in seaweed, which is healthy for you. But the flavour isn't that good (though this is admittedly a matter of personal preference; plenty of people love to snack on roasted sheets of the stuff). Berkeley, California-based Umaro Foods believes it has the right mixture of chemicals to make seaweed taste and feel like bacon. They begin with red seaweed protein, which they claim is mostly responsible for the meaty flavour, colour, and texture of the finished product. They incorporate fatty acid and amino acid-rich chickpea protein.

The fat comes from coconut and sunflower oils, and the flavour is enhanced by paprika and sea salt. Red radish juice adds colour to make everything appear more vibrant. The product provides roughly the same amounts of fat and protein as actual bacon!

They have replicated the texture of real bacon

The texture was the hardest to replicate since real bacon, when cooked properly, is crispy yet fatty and chewy, and that's difficult to replicate, according to Beth Zotter, CEO and cofounder of Umaro Foods. As Umaro's team experimented with several seaweed-derived gels, they became aware that some of them could store substantial amounts of oil. The key to making the fake bacon taste and feel like the real thing was "fat encapsulation" made from seaweed gel!

“We were just playing around with these textures and realized that we got something really crispy with a fat delivery,” Zotter said. To create the recipe's ultimate iteration, her team collaborated with the food innovation lab at Oregon State University.

The Sharks’ reaction to vegan bacon

This past August, Zotter and co-founder Amanda Stiles made an appearance on the popular ABC programme Shark Tank, where business owners present their ventures in an effort to secure funding. The sharks' reactions after trying a single strip were conflicting. Robert Herjavec initially spit it out, saying, “I love bacon, don’t love this. It doesn’t really taste like bacon.” But after trying a vegan BLT, his opinion was totally different; “It’s great in the sandwich, like really good.”

Mark Cuban gave the company $1 million in exchange for a 7% equity investment, so he must have loved it. The entrepreneurs explained to the sharks that bacon was just the beginning.

Accessibility and product usage

Few restaurants in the US currently serve Umaro's bacon, but grocery shops do not yet carry it. Most frequently, it's included in breakfast burritos or vegan BLTs. The business plans to introduce its product to stores the following year and has some capital that could support them in doing so.

The potential for other vegan meats in future

They further want to make vegan salami, pepperoni, and other cured meats using seaweed as a basis. Currently, they are attempting to automate a portion of their production process. “Once that’s completed, we should be able to beat the price of pork bacon,” Zotter said. She is incredibly upbeat about both the cost of her product and seaweed-based cuisine in general.

“Seaweed is the most planet-friendly source of protein around, and our bacon is going to be the first of many products to get seaweed onto the plates of every American, and everyone in the world,” she signs off.