Connect. It’s not always easy, but when the magic happens, everything flows. And this is what has happened to us with Väcka, a Catalan company that produces vegan ‘cheese’, or in other words, a vegan alternative to traditional cheese.
And the ‘object’ of that connection has been the seeds of our melons. Because from these seeds, Väcka extracts a vegetable drink that it uses as an alternative ingredient to animal milk to produce its entire line of melts. The long-term goal is to gradually incorporate this ingredient into all its products.
For us, this commercial partnership means reinforcing the company’s circular economy by adding value to our organic waste. This is something that we have been doing for some time now, thanks to proper waste management.
proper waste management
and through our collaboration with various research projects, such as that of
functional foods
led by the School of Agricultural Engineering, Forestry and Biotechnology of Albacete (ETSIAMB), of the University of Castilla-La Mancha.
Fresh-cut melon
The melon seeds come from our pre-prepared convenience food business , a division in which we produce peeled and sliced fruit, ready to be consumed as a healthy snack. One of our products is melon in tubs, which we market under the brands Frutifresh and Peris. And it is the seeds that we remove in this process that are of great use to Väcka.
The vegetable beverage extracted from these seeds gives Väcka’s products a milky taste, aromas and also nutrients such as protein, healthy fats, fiber, vitamins and minerals. In addition, the melon seeds give the final product a higher melting capacity, in fact, up to three times more melting capacity than the almond vegetable drink, which was previously used in the production of these products.
Sustainability as a company philosophy and its synergies
Beyond the fact that Väcka needed a product that Peris could offer, there has been a fact that has facilitated the synergy between the two companies: the shared vision of sustainability in the company, as Luz Sanz, CEO of Väcka, tells us.
“In this adventure to create a new supply chain, we needed the future partner to share our vision of sustainability and environmental responsibility, and that involvement is what we found in Peris”.
For us, revaluing by-products that end up in the garbage is something that motivates us a lot, because on the one hand we contribute to mitigating environmental problems and, on the other hand, these remains from quality food continue to provide value and nutrition.
And all this work has also been done with the involvement of the teams of both companies, a task that has included several months of testing, monitoring and adjustments for the process to bear fruit.
You can imagine that we at Peris are delighted to be part of this alliance that reinforces our mission of circular economy and environmental sustainability.
We hope to be able to continue telling you about many more actions of this type, with our sights set on a more sustainable and environmentally responsible future.