Customers respond positively to Motif innovations featured in a showcase burger that improve taste and texture; 93% said they would eat it regularly
BOSTON, August 25, 2021 —Motif FoodWorks, the food technology company on a mission to make plant-based food taste better and more nutritious, has announced the results of its limited time promotion with healthy lifestyle eatery Coolgreens, a company that showcased Motif’s innovative food technologies in a food service environment for the first time.
In a limited-time offer that ran from May to July in one of their central Dallas stores, Coolgreens offered two separate “Feel Good” sandwiches to customers. The sandwiches featured Motif’s showcase plant-based burger, designed to demonstrate its Hemami™ and Appetex™ food technologies. Through this partnership, Motif was able to assess how consumers responded to the increased meaty taste, texture, aroma and appearance their food-tech provides in a foodservice environment. At the same time, Coolgreens used the offer to evaluate how plant-based sandwich options would be received by their guests.
The feedback received from guests, along with sales data, shows the effectiveness of better-tasting plant-based products when used in mainstream dining. Of those surveyed, 93% of customers said they would eat the Feel Good Sandwiches featuring Motif’s food-tech regularly, and 62% of respondents said they would purchase the sandwich again. The sandwiches performed well alongside permanent options on the menu, highlighting the consumer appeal of plant-based meat options that hit the mark on taste and texture. Additional feedback from Coolgreens and its guests can be found on Motif’s blog, How FoodWorks. Motif will use the feedback and data from the limited time offer to create and validate better plant-based ingredients for customers to use in their formulations.
“Coolgreen’s customers have spoken – they’ve tasted the future of plant-based meat and love it,” said Michele Fite, chief commercial officer of Motif FoodWorks. “The kind of consumer feedback we gathered through this limited time offer is invaluable. It helps us refine and improve our technologies and, ultimately, deliver on our promise to unleash the promise of plant-based foods that consumers crave.”
“Coolgreens is always looking for opportunities to be on the forefront. Our collaboration with Motif was a great example of two innovative companies coming together to create a high-quality offering for our guests,” said Todd Madlener, Coolgreens’ president and COO. For two decades, Madlener held leadership roles at Red Robin and was involved in the development of many of their signature burgers. He said that Coolgreens’ previous hesitancy to introduce a plant-based sandwich came down to their production capability and high standard for overall consumer eating experience. “But Motif’s plant-based meat technology gave us the flexibility to produce menu options that fit perfectly into our cooking platform and gave our guests an elevated plant-based experience. We had amazing responses – many guests couldn’t believe the sandwiches were plant-based.”
This partnership comes at a time of significant momentum for Motif, most notably with the company’s historic $226 million in Series B funding — a record for a food-tech company. Over the past year, Motif has unveiled innovative plant-based technologies, including meltable cheese and marbleized fat, as well as its Hemami™ and Appetex™ technologies. Motif also undertook a series of academic research projects with the University of Queensland, King’s College and Imperial College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, University of Guelph, and the University of Illinois, collaborating with leading food scientists and industry experts to uncover new insights and solutions to long-standing food challenges.
About Motif FoodWorks
Motif FoodWorks is a food technology company working to make plant-based foods better tasting, more nutritious and so desirable that people actually crave them. The company’s mission is to unleash the promise of plant-based foods by taking a new, holistic approach to food technology and ingredient development that combines science and technology — merged with sensory fundamentals — to reveal totally new answers. By changing our understanding of plant-based food, Motif will enable crave-worthy products that exceed taste and experience expectations, unlocking benefits for people and our planet. For more information, visit www.motif-wp.mocla.us.
About Coolgreens
Coolgreens is a healthy lifestyle eatery committed to making the communities it serves a better place to live by creating healthy, fresh, made-to-order creations. The menu caters to a variety of lifestyles and diets, featuring signature salads, wraps, grain bowls, and sandwiches. Founded in 2009, Coolgreens currently has 11 corporate and franchise fast-casual restaurants in Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, and Florida. The brand also offers franchising opportunities through its Coolgreens Market® – a smart refrigerator that enables consumers to grab healthy, chef-inspired meals on-the-go – as well as through virtual/ghost kitchens. Coolgreens was named one of FastCasual’s 2021 Top 100 Movers & Shakers and one of USA Today’s Best Airport Grab-And-Go Dining destinations.
Media Contacts
Julia Dacri
Eva Palmer
Victoria D. Davis