The Vegetarian Butcher
Feast without the beast
"Hacking your meat favourites with true Butcher's craftsmanship, since 2010. Sacrifice Nothing." The Vegetarian Butcher aspires to become the world’s biggest "meat" producer. Their overriding ambition is to promote structural change in the meat industry. By removing animals from the food chain, they aim to impact the food supply positively.
The Vegetarian Butcher is a pioneering Dutch company that develops, produces, and markets meat alternatives. Founded by Jaap Korteweg, a ninth-generation farmer, it aims to revolutionize the meat industry by offering plant-based alternatives that replicate the taste and texture of meat.
In 1998, Jaap Korteweg realized the need for change after an outbreak of swine fever and mad cow disease in the Netherlands. He rejected the idea of storing animal carcasses in his cold stores and decided to create a meat revolution.
The Vegetarian Butcher was launched in 2010. Notable milestones include winning PETA’s ‘Most animal-friendly company of the year’ award in 2012 and launching their first vegetarian burger, the mc², in Paris in 2013.
The Vegetarian Butcher aims to provide high-quality meat alternatives that satisfy meat lovers without compromising on taste or texture.
Their philosophy is “no meat substitutes, only meat successors.” They believe in a food uprising, advocating for plant-based nutrition and lifestyle benefits.
The company has developed a range of products that deliver the same taste, texture, and nutrition as animal meat.
In 2018, The Vegetarian Butcher was acquired by Unilever recognizing its potential in the growing trend toward plant-based diets. They continue to innovate and expand their product offerings.
“The strength of The Vegetarian Butcher lies in unleashing a worldwide food revolution that makes the switch to plant-based food as easy and tasty as possible. That has been our starting point since 2010. Talking about impact: the biggest impact we are driving, is removing animals from the chain. However, our commitment goes way beyond that, from sourcing to packaging. We want to have a positive effect on the industry in many ways and make that tangible.
Our Impact Report captures the essence of what we do and how we do it. It is our ode to all The Vegetarian Butchers and our growing community of rebels, pioneers and lovers of the new meat, who make this revolution happen every day. Welcome to the biggest food revolution of all time!”