British plant-based startup This is extending its whole-food focus with the launch of a Burmese-style chickpea tofu in partnership with Germany’s Omami.
Plant-based startups This and Omami have joined forces to roll out the first chickpea tofu available in mainstream UK supermarkets.
The move marks This’s first foray into the tofu category (albeit with a different base ingredient), and Omami’s entry into the British market.
The This is Omami Chickpea Tofu product is an extension of This’s recent focus on whole-food plant-based proteins that go beyond its meat-mimicking formats. It is available at Sainsbury’s and Ocado in lightly seasoned and chilli-spiced flavours for £2.95 per 200g, with a wider rollout set for next month.
Omami brings its chickpea tofu expertise to the UK
While tofu is now bought by nearly 9% of British households, the market is almost entirely comprised of Chinese-style soybean tofu.
Burmese tofu, which is made from chickpeas and has a different texture to its soy-derived counterpart, is confined to a minuscule number of artisan brands and restaurant dishes.
The yellow-hued protein has a bouncy, jelly-like consistency, and is firm enough to hold its shape when sliced. It can be crisped on the outside while retaining a creamy texture on the inside. And traditionally, it’s used in dishes like Burmese tofu salad, twice-fried fritters, curries, and deep-fried crackers.
This and Omami’s version is inspired by Burmese tofu, but the recipe has some twists. Their lightly seasoned tofu contains 75% chickpeas, which are mixed with firming agents, salt, sugar, rapeseed oil, pumpkin seeds, cornstarch, wheat, oats, and black pepper.
The chilli-spiced tofu, meanwhile, is gluten-free, with no wheat, oats or pumpkin seeds, and some added spices and chilli. The range has 14-15g of protein and around 2g of fibre per 100g, and just 0.7g of saturated fat.
They will both be available in Tesco from October 6, while the lightly seasoned version will appear on Waitrose shelves from October 15.
Omami is owned by The New Originals Company, which is Europe’s largest tofu manufacturer. In Germany, the brand already retails a wide range of chickpea tofu products, with its black pepper variety bearing resemblance to the lightly seasoned tofu it has launched in the UK with This.
This doubles down on plant-based whole foods
“This is going to be the best tofu on the market, game-changing taste and next-level texture,” claimed This CEO Mark Cuddigan.
“We’re obsessed at This with making plant-based food that tastes delicious and delivers on nutrition too. Our new chickpea-based tofu does exactly that and will hopefully change the way people think about tofu. Plus, there’s also zero fuss – no marinating, no prep, no blandness. Just chop, cook, and enjoy.”
The lightly seasoned tofu block, with a black pepper and salt marinade, can be used for any cuisine, while the spicy chickpea tofu is best-suited to Asian and Mexican meals, including curries and tofu tacos.
“We’re thrilled about this partnership with This. It’s a perfect match of two innovative companies that share the same vision – revolutionising the plant-based market by creating products that truly excite consumers with exceptional taste and nutrition,” said Omami CEO Christina Hammerschmid.
“We’re delighted that people in Britain will soon be cooking and enjoying Omami’s deliciously marinated chickpea tofu,” she added.
The launch comes a week after This rolled out a plant-based beef pastrami and two new SKUs under the This is Super Superfood range it unveiled in the spring. The latter line is part of an effort to offer new standalone formats of whole-food plant proteins that don’t set out to replicate meat.
It came after sales of meat analogues fell by 10% in UK supermarkets last year, as ultra-processing fears pushed Brits towards traditional plant proteins like tofu and beans. And half of them want to further change their diets by eating less meat and dairy and/or more plant-based foods.
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