Discover a locally made range of readyto-cook plant-powered meat alternatives
Canterbury-born and Josie Lambert sisters are the Miranda force behind Burdon Food Nation, a range of ready-to-cook plant-powered alternatives to common meat products that are as good for your health as they are for the planet.
MIRANDA BURDON AND HER YOUNGER SISTER
Josie Lambert have made it their mission to get more plants on more plates for the health of the people and the planet through their new business, Food Nation.
Officially launched in July 2020, Food Nation aims to change the way Kiwis eat by providing a range of tasty plantbased foods such as their Magic Mince, Amaze Balls and Happy Patties, all proudly powered by plants. Having grown up with the family business, Meadow Mushrooms, which was set up by their father, former National MP and Minister of Trade and Industry Philip Burdon more than 50 years ago, the sisters have long been champions of plant power.
But though they grew up squarely in meat-and-three-veg territory, enjoying a lamb roast as much as the next omnivore, they believe reducing meat consumption and providing nutritious delicious plant-powered diet options is good for us and helps build a more sustainable food ecosystem. And they’re not alone. A Colmar Brunton Better Futures report in 2019 showed that one third of New Zealanders are actively reducing their meat consumption or not eating meat at all. Kiwis cited overall health as the number one reason to reduce meat consumption followed closely by the environment, animal welfare, cost and the increasing variety of plant-based options available.
On a world scale though, New Zealand had been a bit slow on the uptake. Worldwide sales of plant-based alternatives have skyrocketed in recent years, says Miranda. ‘When Josie and I started looking for good plant-based alternatives here we found most were imported. There was quite a competitive set produced offshore, but few made here, which didn’t make any sense to us when we have some of the best growers and best horticulture in the world,’ she says.
‘We saw an opportunity to improve human health and the state of the planet while celebrating New Zealand’s fantastic growers. We are already the farm to the world, why not be the garden to the world too? People’s consumption habits are changing. It’s not a fad, this is the reality driven by greater understanding of the impacts on health and our planet of the way we have been consuming.’
Having just returned from 20 years in Singapore and the UK working in the tech industry, Josie had seen first-hand what was happening abroad. It helped that she also has a food science degree. Whereas Miranda comes with an extensive background in fast-moving consumer goods having worked on the commercial side of both the wine and food industries, as well as chairing the board of Meadow Mushrooms.
While their access to an abundance of mushrooms wasn’t the main driver, a lifetime spent involved with growing mushrooms certainly helped. ‘Mushrooms’ nutritional values and texture makes them the perfect base for plant-based dishes. They also have the umami that means they enhance the flavour of the herbs, spices and other vegetables we use,’ says Miranda. As well as incorporating mushrooms, their products use other locally grown superfoods like hemp and
quinoa to help create a nutritional whole food offering.
The pair spent more than a year developing their first products. Surprised by the increase in so-called ‘fake meat’ on supermarket shelves, they were determined to create something that put plants centre-stage, utilising delicious, fresh New Zealand-grown produce. ‘We are committed to using New Zealand grown. It’s been a conscious choice for us,’ says Josie.
They also wanted to create products that would appeal to all food persuasions, so people seeking meat, dairy or glutenfree alternatives, either by choice or necessity, are able to eat the Food Nation range without having to compromise on taste or nutrition. That meant using no dairy, nut, soy, eggs or added gluten. ‘Our goal was to create food that would appeal to everyone, that tastes delicious, has good nutritional value, and is in convenient formats like mince, patties and balls that people know and understand. One meal, one solution, no sacrifice,’ explains Josie.
Above all, the sisters knew that for Food Nation to be a success, their products had to be irresistibly tasty, using fresh vegetables, mushrooms, legumes, herbs and spices, and packing them together in joyous harmony. ‘Taste is everything. It’s a really big deal for us. If we are not delivering on delicious products, then we are not achieving our goal,’ says Miranda.
Delivering on all those aspects proved hard initially, not to mention time consuming. There was lot of trial and error to get products they were 100 per cent happy with. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, accessing specialised technology for production and packaging threw up its own set of unique challenges and frustrations. Sausages were one product the sisters were forced to shelve initially, but they are now revisiting leveraging some of the knowledge and innovation they have developed in the first year. ‘Access to certain technology and ingredients made some things that seemingly should have been easy quite hard, but we just had to remember why we were doing it, and not give up,’ says Miranda.
Food Nation products are handmade with love in their own facility, with boxes of fresh locally sourced produce arriving daily. ‘It is essentially just an over-sized commercial kitchen. We have tried to make the process as close as possible to what it would be in your own home kitchen. It’s a bit labour intensive, but we’ve done that because we really care about the product. We are learning fast and constantly
‘Our goal was to create food that would appeal to everyone, that tastes delicious, and is in convenient formats that people know and understand.’
finding ways to scale, without compromise; it is a really exciting journey.’
Since launching in supermarkets nationwide in October (2020), the sisters have spent a lot of time doing tastings and talking to people up and down the country. So far, the response from customers has been overwhelmingly positive, says Josie. ‘People have been so open to the concept. The South Island has been amazing. The feedback we’re getting is that they’re versatile and easy to use, and people love the taste.’
‘Our customers are central to what we are doing,’ adds Miranda. ‘We’ve taken a very consumer-centric approach. We listen to our consumers. We’ve taken on board people’s feedback and we’ve kept developing. We are always looking for ways to improve existing products and identify what our customers would like to see next.’
‘We hope people will love Food Nation as much as we do.
We want people to be proud to support it. When people go to a barbecue in the summer and proudly put one of our packs down next to the meat, that will be success,’ says Josie.
Their products have also proved a hit with chefs who have turned their plant-based offerings into everything from Middle Eastern-style kaftan to delicious tortellini. This has seen them grow their wholesale channels rapidly and they have experienced great support from the New Zealand meal-kit delivery services, specialty food stores and cafés. Their products can also be found in a Kiwi store in Hong Kong and the sisters are looking at opportunities to expand into markets in the US and Asia.
Food Nation’s international standing also got a massive boost last October when they went on to win the Best Meat Alternative Award at the World Plant Based Awards in
New York ahead of entries from 24 other countries, which included huge global brands, after an enthusiastic customer recommended they submitted their Magic Minces. ‘We’d only had our product in the market for four months, so it was incredibly exciting and slightly stunning for a young
New Zealand company to be recognised like this,’ says Miranda. ‘We are learning as the market evolves. I don’t think we’ve nailed it yet, but it feels like we are making good headway. Our ambition is to deliver a world-class product that showcases New Zealand’s amazing horticulture, helping bring balance to our diets and our planet. It feels like we are on the right path and that is exciting and motivating.’
Rest assured there is plenty more to come from Food Nation. As Miranda says, ‘We have only just scratched the surface.’
Food Nation got a massive boost last October when they won the Best Meat Alternative Award at the World Plant Based Awards in New York.