Umami Burger: Ultra-Realistic Plant-Based Meat Maker Dives Into Whole-Food Trend

Headline-grabbing startup Juicy Marbles is targeting the “sweet spot” between hyper-realistic meat alternatives and veggie patties with its new Umami Burger.

Slovenian meat-free startup Juicy Marbles has become the latest plant-based brand to bet on whole foods.

The company has achieved mainstream media fame with its ultra-realistic meat analogues, from whole-muscle plant-based steaks to vegan ribs with edible bones. Now, though, it’s expanding its horizons by bridging the gap with classic veggie burgers.

Juicy Marbles’s new Umami Burger, launched in 225 Tesco stores across the UK, is made from a combination of sunflower protein, fermented koji barley, quinoa, flax seeds, seitan, and miso. It costs £4.95 per pack of two.

“Umami Burger meets all the Juicy Marbles criteria for nutrition, versatility, taste, and texture,” said co-founder and CEO Tilen Travnik. “It has the nutritional benefits we demand of our other cuts, pairs deliciously with tons of cuisines, and is a cinch to prepare. It’s kind of incredible how much you can achieve with such simple ingredients.”

Tofu, tempeh and bean burgers ‘miss the mark’

The new burger is described as the “ultimate veggie patty” that hits the “sweet spot” between meat analogues and veggie burgers. The company aims to provide the same versatility, textural wins, and robust nutrition as their whole cuts, but with “easy-to-understand ingredients”.

Aside from the base ingredients, the Umami Burger contains onions, sunflower oil, molasses, tomato paste, cider vinegar, spices, salt, and natural smoke flavouring.

Each 100g patty has 22g of protein, over 3g of fibre, and 5.5g of fat (only 1g of which is saturated). And in addition to the original flavour, Juicy Marbles offers a patty with spinach and Mediterranean spices too.

“Even we don’t always want something super meaty. Sometimes, I want something more veg-forward,” said Juicy Marbles co-founder Luka Sinček. “The problem comes when classic options like tofu, tempeh, and bean burgers require a lot of prep to taste good or miss the mark on texture.”

He added: “What’s great about Umami Burger is [that] it delivers a satisfying bite, lends itself to a huge variety of dishes with basically no prep, and sports a nutrient profile you can feel good about eating every day. I think it will find a permanent home in the fridges of our ‘meat’-loving customers as well as those who lean more ‘granola’.”

Whole-food plant-based options in full focus in the UK

The new burger can be fried up in five minutes, and also be sliced into sandwiches, salads, wraps, and bowls. According to Juicy Marbles, it has a “naturally savoury” flavour that is “rich but not overpowering”, as well as a tender yet springy texture.

“The goal of Umami Burger was to use super easy-to-understand ingredients to make a patty worthy of everyday use. It had to be satisfying, not-too-heavy, and unbeatably nutritious. In essence, the ultimate veggie patty,” said co-founder and R&D chief Maj Hrovat.

The company will hope to replicate the success of its previous launches in the UK. Its Thick-Cut Filet steak, for example, sold out 86% of its initial stock at Waitrose within four days of launch, and later became the fastest-selling plant-based meat product in Tesco history.

It is among several plant-based food producers betting on whole foods in the UK, with ultra-processing concerns pushing more Brits to buy vegetable-based products over meat alternatives. The shift is driven by the ‘plant points‘ movement, which encourages people to eat 30 different plants every week for better gut health.

This, known for its vegan meat portfolio, launched the This is Super Superfood line in April, comprising a new product format that eschewed the meat-mimicking philosophy for whole-food blocks and pieces. It doubled down with a product expansion later in the year.

Also in April, Oh So Wholesome rolled out Veg’chop, a range of cubes made from red lentils, quinoa, yellow split peas, mushrooms, seeds, and more plants. Meanwhile, tofu maker The Tofoo Co enjoyed its best year yet in 2024, with sales up by nearly 20%, and tempeh brand Better Nature raised $1.5M after a 128% sales increase in Q2, its best quarter to date.