Zonde(r) Chorizo Style Slices

Over het initiatief / About the initiative

In welke fase zit jouw initiatief? / In what stage is your initiative?

Uitgewerkt conceptfase

Heb je jouw initiatief al gevalideerd? / Did you validate your initiative?

Yes, our product has been tasted by many in our school environment, winning second place for most innovative product and first place in the public vote at our schools innovation fair.

Meer informatie over jouw initiatief / More info about your initiative

Zonde(r)’s mission is to create new plant-based products that fit in on a charcuterie board or can just be eaten as a snack. The company wants to make it easier for consumers to switch to plant–based consumption by providing them with a vegan alternative for their favorite finger foods. Decreasing animal-based food consumption is a key part of the Dutch government’s environmental and climate strategy. Because the products from Zonde(r) do not contain any animal-based ingredients, they are more sustainable and ethical than the products that are currently being sold at the Kies en Mix section in Dutch supermarkets.  

Wat is er anders/nieuw aan jouw idee/oplossing t.o.v. bestaande oplossingen? / What is different/new about your idea/solution compared to existing solutions??

The existing solutions for hearty, ready to eat charcuterie fall in 3 categories:

1. Animal-based finger foods like cheese cubes and sausage slices
2. Dips and spreads for crackers and cut vegetables, sometimes plant-based and other times meat-based
3. Meat-replacements ment to mimic sausages and cold-cuts

Our product aims to provide people with a product that is hearty, convenient and plant based but a finger-food and not a dip, chip our cracker. It is also more tasty on its own than the meat replacements and sliced meat alternatives that are on the market right now.

The bigger underlying idea of our product is that the Netherlands has a size-able population of flexitarians (people who try to limit their meat consumption), but lacks meat replacement options that would substitute charcuterie and sandwich-meats. We think that this is a huge let down, considering that the Dutch typically eat these types of meat multiple times during the week. The consumption of these meats is a habit, and flexitarians that can not find something similar to replace these meats with will still pick them over the spreads and other traditional plant based options. By providing a tasty and conveniënt snack that comparable to meat in texture, we hope to make the switch to plant-based consumption more easy.

Wat zijn jouw volgende stappen om het verder te ontwikkelen? / What are your next steps to develop the initiative?

We need to find an acceptable way to produce and distribute our produce. This includes improving our product’s safety, shelf life and packaging. It also means optimizing the process for up-scaling production and acquiring machinery. Lastly we need to establish distribution channels and find distributors and customers.

Wat heb je nodig om (nog meer) impact te maken met dit initiatief? / What do you need to make (more) impact with this initiative?

We need to move the initiative from the developed concept phase to the start up phase or find partners that can produce and/or distribute the product. This way we can start to actually reach consumers with our product, which is hard to do from were our product is now. Our main way to have impact on society is by providing consumers with our products.