Coconut jerky: innovation that looks like, but it’s not meat

Vegetarianism is a rising star. The impacts of meat consumption are high and we need to diversify our diets. Among the new products, we have the coconut jerky. Meet it here.

We’ve talked here about the environmental impacts of meat consumption and the need to diversify our diets. The “flexitarians” just showed up, they are are the “part-time” vegetarians, people who don’t give up eating meat, but alternate with vegetarian meals. There are several lines of research on the alternatives to carnivorous diets ranging from the creation of meat in laboratory, development of products based on insects, and even the discovery of new plant based vegetarian products. Do you remember aquafaba mayo? And the seaweed that tastes like bacon? Yes, they have been all through Eat Innovation! But the new product making success is the “coconut jerky”. Yes, the Green coconut that is part of any walk on the beach is also an ingredient for this “vegan meat”.

The product is equivalent to beef jerky, those strips of spiced meat dehydrated, sold in packets in the supermarket (picture below).

The New York-based startup Cocoburg leads the movement for vegan coconut jerky.  After a successful crwdfunding campaign, the company started production. The products are made by strips of Green Thai coconut pulp (that white pulp like the one in the photo below), and then dehydrated.

The flavors range from the original to ginger-teriaky and are all vegan, gluten-free and soy-free. The sales are made online on their own site and also in the markets of the United States.

The American Mighty Bee also produces coconut jerky. In addition to salted flavor like barbecue, they also have also sweet chocolate and hazelnuts options.

There are also other startups with activities in this branch of the vegetarian jerky snacks, such as watermelon jerky we talked about here. There are also banana and mushrooms jerky alternativas. With so many options, it’s easy to diversify the diet. Who said food without meat has to be dull? 

References: Vegansaurus, Trend Hunter