Netherlands-based Vegan Finest Foods has been on the vegan radar since 2020, not least for its Vegan Jester brand that includes a large range of plant-based seafood and sushi products that recently launched an interesting line of shrimp products in addition to its vegan sashimi. , no tuna and no salmon.
We had a great chat with the company and caught up with co-founder Rosella D’angeli to hear all about Vegan Finest Foods and its impressive portfolio. “We have big ambitions,” enthuses Rosella.
What is the mission of Vegan Finest Foods?
At Vegan Finest Foods we create the most delicious and unique vegan and palm oil-free products, so you can indulge in the foods you love. At the end of the day we strive for a world where all animals, planets and people thrive.
Tell us about your brand portfolio.
Vegan Finest Foods has four brands: Vegan Zister – Fish Alternative; Beastie Plants – Meat and Poultry Alternatives; iMelt4U – cheese substitute; And Vegan Junkster – Vegan Sauce.
Vegan jester
Vegan Jesters are unique and revolutionary plant-based seafood, with flavors and textures that perfectly mimic their fish counterparts. Game-changing products are mind-blowingly realistic and replace seafood in all your favorite dishes, from sushi and poke bowls to shrimp tacos and calamari – there’s no limit!
Beastie plants
Our Beastie Plants are as cool as cucumbers in a bowl of hot sauce. You can’t get enough of our plant-based bacon, chicken wings, shawarmama, beastie burgers, or croquette burgers while our betterballs are a revamped version of a Dutch classic, but just, well… better.
iMelt4U
Being cheesy is not easy! Especially if you have a vegan cheese option. Of course that didn’t put us off in our search for a plant-based alternative that melts just like the real thing. Reflecting our perseverance. The similarity is strange! We dare you not to melt away!
Vegan Junkster
Looking to give your food that extra oomph? Vegan Junkster is where it’s at! We have the perfect companion for dips or drops! Our wide range of vegan sauces are sure to make your mouth water.
What is your most successful product, and why, in your opinion?
We have introduced several successful products over the years – our first success was our award-winning No Tuna and No Salmon Sashimi for which we received a PETA award in 2020. Our family of Shrimps including Plain Shrimps, Crispy Chilli Shrimps and Crispy Lemon Shrimps are also customer favorites.
And the Crispy Chicken Wings, Croquette Burgah and Betterball were the first of their kind in the world to be palm-oil free.
We believe our strong focus on high quality of taste and texture is what our customers appreciate most. The end goal for us is to deliver a delicious product without compromise and our happy and returning customers are the best indicator of achieving this.
At this year’s Horekawa trade fair in Amsterdam, you premiered a full range of “world first” vegan sushi and poke bowl products – tell us more about the product range and the response you’ve received.
Vegan Jester’s sushi and poke bowl range features a variety of vegan sushi ingredients, including award-winning vegan sashimis and a variety of vegan shrimps. The entire range is plant-based, palm-oil free and of the highest quality. With these high-quality ingredients, food service companies can create the perfect nigiri, sashimi, temaki, uramaki, gankan, handroll or poke bowl for their customers. Vegan Jester provides all the ingredients to make veganize sushi and poke bowls.
“At the end of the day we strive for a world where all animals, planets and people thrive”
The range includes: No Salmon Sashimi, No Tuna Sashimi, Plain Shrimps, Crispy Chilli Shrimps, Crispy Lemon Shrimps, No Tuna Flakes Classic, No Tuna Flakes Tomatoes, Tasty Cod. And our newcomers: Crispy Coconut Shrimp and Frozen Plant-Based Sushi Rolls, which come in four different flavors and feature our sashimi. Seven more product launches are planned for 2023.
Plant-based seafood options continue to trend in the global market – with this in mind, what are the growth prospects for your alt-seafood brand Vegan Zister in 2023 and beyond?
The market is poised for a transition to plant-based fish alternatives. It offers great growth potential and that growth is expected to continue in the next decade. Vegan Finest Foods has a strong focus on continuous improvement and innovation.
“…We plan to launch seven new products for 2023 alone!”
We have fish options in stock since 2019 and we plan to launch seven new products for 2023 alone! With our wide variety of high-quality fish options, we can cater to customers’ varied desires and needs and offer them delicious products without compromising on taste or texture. Stay tuned to discover our game-changers for 2023!
The Netherlands is often described as a “hotspot for vegan food innovation” – why is this and how can you benefit from this ecosystem?
Vegan Finest Foods is a Dutch company and the Dutch are known for being entrepreneurial. In addition, Vegan Finest Foods has a clear mission that drives us to create the best plant-based alternatives to fish, meat and cheese: We strive for a world where all animals, planets and people can thrive!
Where do you see vegan fine foods in five years?
We have big ambitions. We want to make our products available to a wider audience and we continue to innovate to make the choice of fish, meat or dairy alternatives as easy as possible.
Together we can change the world, one meal at a time!