This New Vegan Online Shop Is Tackling Food Waste With Frozen Food

Founders behind the dairy-free avocado ice cream brand Fravocado, have launched an online frozen food shop Mighty Plants to combat food waste and simultaneously support independent frozen food brands to reach consumers interested in transitioning to a plant-based diet.

Mighty Plants is aimed at consumers who have a busy lifestyle but care what goes on their plate. The shop offers a range of sustainable frozen products which will be delivered to their doorstep. Products include ice cream, allergen-free frozen food, vegan ready-meals, and plant-based meat alternatives.

According to a U.N. report, a shocking 931 million tonnes of food sold to households, retailers, restaurants, and other food services, was wasted in just 2019 alone. Just in the U.K., more than 10.2 million tonnes of food goes to waste every year. This is equivalent to 156 kg per person. Yet despite this waste, it is estimated that more than 8 million people in the U.K. are struggling to buy food.

Frozen Foods To Tackle Food Waste

The frozen food supply chain generates less waste than fresh food, making it cheaper as well as longer lasting. Plus, this price difference gives low-income households access to frozen plant-based foods which are healthy as they preserve flavour, nutrients and vitamins for a longer time.

Flash freezing seals the nutritional value and taste of the items unlike fresh produce that is harvested before it matures and since it is transported over long distances, it is subject to light and temperature, having an impact on its nutritional value.

Mighty Plants

During the pandemic, Becky and Gabriel Osborne, the founders of Fravocado—a dairy-free and allergen-free ice cream brand—lost several retail customers as shops and restaurants which were offering their ice cream closed.

Becky shared that delivering frozen food is usually expensive and needs special packaging. They wanted to make it cost-effective but at the same time it had to be a reasonable minimum order. “I had to put myself into the consumers’ shoes, and things were tight financially,” she said in a statement. “Could I really justify spending a minimum of GBP£30(approx. US$35) on ice cream, let alone have the freezer space for it?”

A positive future of our planet, its environment, animals and people is at the centre of everything we do and every decision we make

Becky and Gabriel Osborne, founders of Mighty Plants

They then decided to partner with other small independent brands which are sustainable in all aspects from packaging to sourcing and launch Mighty Plants, an online store for all frozen plant-based foods. They now deliver their ice cream in sustainable insulation packaging made from recycled plastic bottles.

The duo said: “A positive future of our planet, its environment, animals and people is at the centre of everything we do and every decision we make,” with Becky adding: “We want to give you food flexibility – frozen food lasts longer and reduces waste – which is great for your wallet and the planet.” 

We want to give you food flexibility – frozen food lasts longer and reduces waste – which is great for your wallet and the planet

Becky, co-founder of Mighty Plants

Investment To Kickstart

The duo received investment from Dismatrix Group, a venture capital firm which focusses on environmentally-friendly companies.

Co-founder of Dismatrix Group, Miray Zaki, said: “Dismatrix is proud to have invested in Mighty Plants, a new delivery service for frozen vegan food and desserts. The founders of Mighty Plants launched a vegan frozen delivery service to help combat the food waste problem and the greenhouse emissions. They offer better options to those following a plant-based diet from both large and small producers. Buying frozen and plant-based foods can help cut food waste throughout the supply chain and in households.” 

“This was a perfect fit for investment firm Dismatrix, which backs sustainably-driven, yet financially lucrative opportunities in the plant-based food revolution. It’s an honour to be working with Miray and Sebastiano of Dismatrix Group, not only has it given us a lot of validation to our vision but they bring a wealth of experience and knowledge. We are now ready to take Mighty Plants to the next level,” Becky concluded.

The global frozen food market set to soar by US$64.69 billion during 2020-2024, with consumers inclined to buy vegan frozen food as a factor driving this growth. In a 2019 study, food waste was slashed by half when forzen products were opted instead of fresh ones.

Read: China Adopts Food Waste Law & Bans Binge Eating Videos To Foster ‘Resource-Conserving’ Society

Lead image courtesy of Mighty Plants.