The decision to purchase plant-based foods is primarily based on taste, followed by price and ingredients. Just in time for Veganuary, BILLA has further strengthened its leading role as a plant-based pioneer in the industry and realised its ‘Vegavita Free From’ promise. This guarantees that all 90 or so items in BILLA's own brand Vegavita, which is purely plant-based, are now free from added preservatives, flavour enhancers, artificial flavours, palm oil and hydrogenated fats. Vegavita is thus setting new standards in the field of purely plant-based products.
Erich Szuchy, BILLA CEO: "With Vegavita, launched in 2002 and thus Austria's oldest purely plant-based own brand, BILLA responded early to the demand for purely plant-based products. A wide range of products alone is not enough. Consumers are paying ever closer attention to the list of ingredients. According to a recent survey, 77 per cent look for foods free of preservatives, 69 per cent for palm oil-free products and 75 per cent for products free of artificial flavours. With our “Vegavita Free From” promise, we have our finger on the pulse."
Verena Wiederkehr, BILLA Head of Plant-Based Business Development: "Our aim is to deliver the best taste in the best quality. To guarantee this, we have tasted thousands of products and improved recipes. Not only the quality of the raw materials is important to us, but also their origin. Half of Vegavita products are already produced in Austria. The “Vegavita Free From” promise is another milestone in product development. The change has no impact on the pricing of Vegavita products, which continue to be available at the usual attractive prices."
BILLA calls for equal taxation of animal milk and plant-based alternatives
Value added tax on food is a hot topic at the moment. In this context, BILLA is once again drawing attention to the unequal taxation of animal milk and plant-based alternatives during Veganuary. While animal milk is taxed at 10 per cent, the rate for plant-based alternatives is 20 per cent. BILLA is waiving the additional VAT on all plant-based drinks for its customers during Veganuary. ‘One in ten milk cartons sold at BILLA is already a purely plant-based variant. Now there is a new opportunity to rectify this unequal treatment in the VAT rate on animal milk and plant-based alternatives,’ says Wiederkehr.
Beans are the number one choice among consumers
In a recent survey, three out of four respondents said they prefer beans as an ingredient in purely plant-based products, with protein-rich soy being the most frequently mentioned. This is also a high priority at Vegavita, which has switched to using soy from Austria as an ingredient in products such as its purely plant-based European pea schnitzel. The superfood tempeh is also becoming increasingly popular. At Vegavita, it is fermented from various whole beans, from black beans to kidney beans. According to Austrian nutritional recommendations, around two tempehs per week are sufficient to cover the recommended minimum weekly amount of legumes.
Mushroom-based products from MushRoots are launching exclusively in Austria at BILLA PLUS and BILLA PFLANZILLA.
In addition, just in time for Veganuary, BILLA PLUS and BILLA PFLANZILLA are bringing the finest mushroom balls, mushroom patties and mushroom mince from MushRoots, with the best umami flavour, exclusively to Austria. MushRoots is a brand from the Hamburg-based start-up Infinite Roots, which has set itself the goal of developing a new category of sustainable proteins. The products are based on mushrooms as the main natural ingredient and contain no artificial flavours or flavour enhancers. The plant-based meat dishes contain up to 73 per cent mushrooms, are made from 100 per cent standard kitchen ingredients, have a high protein content and can be incorporated into all your favourite recipes, from burgers to Bolognese. Consumers are also impressed by how quick they are to prepare – it takes less than 10 minutes. MushRoots products – mushroom patties, classic or Mediterranean-style mushroom balls and minced mushroom – are now available for £3.69 each in BILLA PLUS stores in Austria and will be available at BILLA PFLANZILLA from the end of the week.
*Source: marketmind
