How mock-meat is catching up on Indian taste buds!

Here is what Mr. Karan Bajaj and Ms. Keertida Phadke, Co-Founders of Eat With Better have to say about Jackfruit, a perfect meat substitute for Non-vegetarians!

Q1. What is plant-based meat and why is it gaining popularity in India?

Plant-based meats are products that aim to mimic the look, mouthfeel and nutritional profile of regular animal-based meats. As people across the world are becoming more and more conscious about the impact that their consumption choices have on their health and on that of the planet, there is a significant movement in countries like the US, France, Germany and the UK for people to reduce their consumption of animal products, starting from meat. As is the case with any trend originating in the west, the plant-based movement has also gained significant traction in India. Consumers motivations to follow this diet are usually driven by one or more of the following three concerns - concerns for their health, concern for the environment, and out of compassion for animals who live inhumane lives from the time they are born until they reach the slaughterhouse.

Q2. What is Eat With Better all about? And how did you(Karan) and Keertida think about starting this company?

Here at Eat with Better, We have a straightforward mission - to utilize the potential of jackfruit as a novel new ingredient and to integrate it into more and more people's diets by dispelling the not-so-positive notions around it and making it a more mainstream food option. As with all great origin stories, the decision to work with jackfruit was entirely incidental - I (Karan) happened to try jackfruit (in its raw form) for the first time in my life, around the same time when I was on a personal journey to give up eating meat altogether. Back then, in 2018, the market was devoid of any plant-based meat analogues, so I took this as positive encouragement to set up a business to promote this fruit that I had recently become obsessed with. It was only once I met Keertida, who was at the time running a vegetarian-forward restaurant in Pune, did I feel like we had the perfect match to embark on this mission. We eventually ended up launching our brand in mid-2020.

Q3. Why should one switch to vegan meat?

We are big advocates for the freedom for people to eat what they want, but we firmly believe that jackfruit will be a worthy ingredient to introduce to people's pantries. We have been distancing ourselves from pushing jackfruit too much as a meat substitute for two reasons - it eventually sets people up for disappointment, but it is an incredible ingredient just by itself - not pretending to be meat or any such thing. It has a naturally meaty texture, which, along with its neutral flavor, makes it a perfect canvas to cook with almost anything. Its versatility is unparalleled - it can be used in various Indian preparations such as biryanis, kheema, stir-fries and some good old jackfruit curries. It can also be used to make tacos, pizzas, burgers, pasta, and so on... the possibilities are endless!

Q4. Being Jackfruit the main ingredient, what are the other ingredients that you use as a base for preparing your jackfruit dishes? (like wheat flour, vegetable protein etc..)

Currently, raw jackfruit is our primary ingredient - it is minimally processed. The ingredient list is as simple as can be - jackfruit, salt and water. In the next couple of months, we are going to launch some more value-added products such as jackfruit nuggets and jackfruit samosas, which will be prepared using certain other ingredients but nonetheless be free of any soybean or textured vegetable protein. We have an unwavering commitment towards keeping our products as clean label as possible!

Q5. What is your focus on sustainability while you operate?

Jackfruit is by default one of the most sustainable crops one can work with. It takes no planned irrigation to grow; it doesn't need pesticides or fertilizers to grow and survive, as the fruit is naturally hardy and pest resistant. Not to mention that every fruit weighs anywhere from 15-35kgs, and every tree yields 100+ jackfruit on average. The fruit grows so well that farmers and even people with jackfruit trees in their backyards have no idea what to do with it. We receive at least one email weekly from customers who have jackfruit trees in their backyard and would like us to procure some for nominal rates as they are also just looking to get rid of them. In addition to this, we source directly from smallholder farmers (through a single intermediary), which ensures that they are fairly compensated for the jackfruit that we procure from them - in absolute numbers, we pay them Rs.10/- more per kg than what they would get from the markets (which is often 0 rupees, because of oversupply above of the fruit)

Q6. What is the Way Forward?

Jackfruit left, right and centre! Restaurant partnerships, chef partnerships, new products - whatever it takes to give this ingredient the importance it rightfully deserves. I mentioned earlier that we receive emails from customers asking us to procure their jackfruit. However, as much as we would love to, we cannot do that because the most challenging part about the jackfruit value chain is not procuring it; it is processing the fruit. Our vision is to get to a point where we can scale up jackfruit consumption so much that we can plug in the processing gaps in the country's significant jackfruit growing belts.