Quorn Foods has been developing meat alternatives that do good for people and the planet for over 50 years. The mission behind the creation of Quorn was feeding the planet on a bigger scale, it’s not just about eating meat free, it’s about sustaining the world around us.
Meat free isn’t just a trend anymore, it’s a consumer behaviour, and customers are actively demanding that delicious meat free dishes, in their own right, are added to menus.
That’s why Quorn is so passionate about the super protein at the heart of all its products. Quorn’s mycoprotein is nutritious and sustainable like no other protein, making it easier for chefs to add dishes to menus that taste great and have a positive impact on the planet.
Its extremely versatile, takes on flavour and can be used as both the finished product or an ingredient, opening up a huge opportunity for chefs to use it to create delicious and sustainable choices for their menus.
Mycoprotein has a texture close to meat, which makes it easy for people to choose food that is good for their own health and that of the planet.
We have partnered with high street food outlets, including Greggs, KFC, Costa Coffee and Pizza Hut as well as top national pub chains, to make our food even more accessible.
Why Quorn is good for the environment
By 2030 Quorn’s goal is to be a net positive business and, in that year, provide 8 billion servings of Quorn – that’s one for every person on the planet.
Sustainability is at the heart of everything Quorn does. The brand shares a vision with the foodservice industry to make delicious food that delivers for the growing trend of consumers who want to live a healthier lifestyle and make better choices for our planet.
Powered by Quorn’s mycoprotein, Quorn was the first major meat free supplier to have its products carbon footprinted by a third-party accreditor. The Carbon Trust has certified the carbon footprint of Quorn’s mycoprotein since 2012 and the carbon footprint of Quorn’s mycoprotein is 10x lower than beef and 4x lower than chicken*1.
The brand uses a different approach: Quorn grows protein in fermenters rather than fields, farming vertically rather than horizontally to produce Quorn, using 40-metre-high fermenters that have distinct environmental benefits.
In a year, roughly 200,000 tonnes of emissions are avoided by people eating Quorn rather than meat, just in the UK2. Globally, about 160,000 tonnes of emissions are avoided every year by people eating Quorn mince rather than beef mince3.
Earlier this year Quorn joined the Race to Zero emissions as it signed The Climate Pledge commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism.
By joining The Climate Pledge, Quorn is the first meat alternative company to take the pledge and has committed to be zero carbon by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s goal of 2050.
Pledge signatories in total generate more than $1.4 trillion in global annual sales and have more than 5 million employees across 25 industries in 16 countries—demonstrating the collective impact The Climate Pledge can have in addressing climate change.
As a signatory to the pledge, Quorn agrees to:
- Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis.
- Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies.
- Neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s goal of 2050.
Why we should embrace plant food on our menu
Meat free dishes are no longer on the menu to cater for the minority, consumers are actively seeking meat free alternatives to enable them to live a healthier lifestyle and make better choices for our planet.
Quorn’s versatile products can be used for a wide range of cuisines, styles and trends. From indulgent, junk food inspired dishes to lighter options with healthier credentials.
Dishes need to be exciting and full of flavour to capture imaginations and with sustainability at the heart of many consumers’ decision making, Quorn is perfectly placed as the best-known meat free brand to inspire chefs to create a bold and inviting meat free menu, that will create positive change and build a more sustainable future, one plate at a time.
Quorn Solutions for young food service professionals
Quorn is pioneering the future of foodservice and inspiring chefs. The team’s work goes further than the delicious, nutritious meals they help customers to create.
Last year Quorn created a new Culinary Team, bringing in five new chefs. The team is responsible for challenging the status quo in meat free and has been tasked with identifying the next big product opportunities. Everything from new trends, techniques, flavours, ingredients, or recipes that will help us to drive Quorn’s ambition to make it easier for people to choose delicious and sustainable food, wherever they are – whether that’s at home, on the high street or at a restaurant.
In January, the team announced a partnership with HIT Training to launch the UK’s first plant-based training programme to highlight just how easy it is to add creative meat free dishes to menus.
The eight-month Plant Based training programme is available to chefs at all levels and is being delivered by HIT’s award-winning Chef Academy.
The course will feature a module on Quorn to showcase its versatility across different dishes and cuisines, alongside a module on sustainability to highlight the positive role plant-based proteins can have on both the health of the planet and people.
Quorn has also collaborated with LACA as a sponsor of this year’s School Chef of the Year competition which involves the brand working with school chefs across the country to create delicious and imaginative main meals using at least one Quorn product.
The Craft Guild of Chefs is the largest UK chefs’ association with members worldwide in foodservice and hospitality, from students and trainees to top management working everywhere from Michelin starred restaurants to school catering divisions. Quorn has recently partnered with the association on their Graduate Awards, enabling young chefs to create exciting dishes using Quorn, that are delicious and meat-free.
