Puolet Parempi Oy is a Finnish startup that aims to halve meat consumption by creating healthy hybrid products with 50% less meat. Their goal was to create a new, nutritious, and family-friendly meatball recipe by combining meat and plant-based protein.
The challenge: how to halve the meat content in meatballs while maintaining a familiar juicy taste and texture
Kaisa Somerpalo, product developer and founder of Puolet Parempi Oy, says she wanted to create a consumer-friendly step towards more sustainable food choices. Her vision is centred on the Finnish concept of sopu, a noun that emphasises harmony and agreement between parties – in this case between plant-based and animal-based diets.
“Sopu offers a healthier and more sustainable everyday choice in a tasty and familiar way without the feeling of missing out,” Somerpalo explains.
The solution: carefully crafted health-conscious hybrid meatballs made of chicken, pork, and BlackGrain TVP
“I usually begin a product development process by tackling the question of structure. Taste follows naturally after that”, Somerpalo shares. “For this recipe I knew from the start that I wanted to work with BlackGrain TVP because of the great structure and clean flavour that it provides.”
In this project, Somerpalo succeeded in reaching the desired texture and mouthfeel already in the first test recipe. After that, the focus was on flavour profiles and balancing taste and health benefits. Sopu Hybrid Meatballs come in three different flavours: mild Original, Mediterranean Italy, and lime-and-ginger-flavoured Korea.
The development process also involved finetuning the amount of salt in the new hybrid meatballs. Research during product development revealed that 80% of test tasters rated the final 1,15g per 100g as “perfectly salted”.
“This shows that a relatively modest amount of salt is enough to bring out the taste of these meatballs. Interestingly, Sopu Hybrid Meatballs are currently the only meatballs on the Finnish market that are not high in sodium. Many popular meatballs contain up to 2g per 100g of salt”, Somerpalo says.
The benefits of BlackGrain TVP: perfect texture and juiciness with no distracting aftertaste
According to Somerpalo, BlackGrain TVP helped to create a structure and mouthfeel for the new hybrid meatballs that couldn’t be achieved with any other plant protein.
“I wasn’t looking for a completely smooth mass that makes a denser kind of meatball but rather something just a little coarser to produce the juicy texture that I was after. When fried on a pan or in an airfryer, the final product is crispy on the outside and perfectly juicy on the inside.”
The dark brown colour of BlackGrain TVP naturally suits the new hybrid meatballs.
“Another important benefit is that we have no distracting aftertaste of legumes which can often be a challenge when working with plant proteins. The clean flavour of these BlackGrain-enhanced hybrid meatballs leaves you wanting more”, Somerpalo adds.
The results: Hybrid Meatballs by Sopu (Original flavour)
- Flavour: clean mild umami, consumer-friendly
- Texture: juicyness and mouthfeel resemble traditional meatballs
- Nutrition labels: “high in protein”
- Dietary claims: lactose-free
Nutritional content per 100 g
| Energy | 1 030 kJ / 245 kcal |
| Total fat | 16 g |
| … saturated fat | 2,6 g |
| Total carbohydrates | 10,5 g |
| … sugars | 0,7 g |
| Protein | 14 g |
| Salt | 1,15 g |
| Fibre | 1,7 g |