THE CHALLENGE

Colorado's Planterra Foods, known for Ozo plant-based proteins catering to flexitarians, has introduced commercialized meatballs and burgers crafted from a unique blend of pea and rice protein, enriched with mycelia from fermented Shiitake mushrooms.

OUR WORK

Teaming up with Brazil's JBS, the world's largest meat manufacturer, they aimed to establish a standalone U.S. business unit dedicated to plant-based product development. In a competitive market, Ozo sets itself apart with a distinctive ingredient—fermented Shiitake mushrooms, adding both flavor and aiding digestion to their pea protein-based burgers. 

Our task was to create a cleaner plant-based burger and a vegetarian chickpea burger, using whole, natural ingredients that consumers could easily identify both visually and from the ingredient list.

THE RESULT

Despite the phenomenal success in burger development, the slowing growth of the plant-based category prompted the termination of the Planterra group after just two years.