Manchester-based Herblabism is soon set to supply major sports stadiums, arenas and conference centres with its range of plant-based food.
The local start-up specialises in meat-free products and has now been contracted by Levy UK + I, which provides catering and hospitality at some of the biggest venues in the country.
The two businesses collaborated at the COP26 summit in Glasgow earlier this year on a menu that was 60% meat-free and 40% plant-based.
Thousands of Herblabism mushroom burgers and plant-based sausages were sold at the climate change conference.
James Buckley, Levy’s director of culinary, said: “Collaborating with an exciting and innovative plant-based start-up like Herblabism, which shares the same sustainable vision as Levy, is a great way for us to drive food innovation and change behaviours across the entire food supply chain.
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James Buckley
“Levy is also completely committed to a low carbon, plant-forward strategy. This is something which we clearly demonstrated through our meat-free COP26 menus which accounted for 60% of our total sales. In comparison, our beef-based sales were less than 2%.
“We see Herblabism’s products playing a key role in helping us deliver our Net Zero vision – and we look forward to working closely with them further to supply more of our venues across the UK going forward.”
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Herblabism’s move to feeding crowds at major sporting events and arenas is part of its ambitious journey to revolutionise the way food is cultivated, manufactured and supplied in the UK.
Dr Vincent Walsh, founder of Herblabism, said: “Our vision is one where Herblabism makes an impact in every part of the supply chain, becoming central to the entire ‘farm to fork’ food journey.
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“This spans innovations in circular farming practices, and sourcing better ingredients for our products, through to innovations in the processing of products, their packaging, and their distribution.
“So, while I am incredibly proud that our mushroom burgers and plant-based sausages were so well received at globally significant event like COP26 – and I’m incredibly excited about extending our fantastic partnership with Levy – our ultimate aim is to create a food business which is clean, transparent, efficient, localised, and decentralised.
“I also want to create a sustainable, cost-effective food production model which will be an exemplar for others as we all look to meet the challenges of climate change.”
In addition to being sold through Levy UK + I partner venues, a selection of Herblabism products will soon be available directly to the consumer through their website.
Featured image: Supplied
Food & Drink
‘Manchester’s best lunch deal’ that’s only available for two hours a day
Daisy Jackson
There’s a cafe in the centre of Manchester that’s had queues all the way down the street thanks to its incredible value lunch deal.
Although it’s been in Spring Gardens for two years now, Meridian has remained one of Manchester’s best-kept secrets online, thanks to its decision to stay totally off social media until recently.
That hasn’t stopped the queues though, and they’re all here for the same thing – a loaded £5.80 lunch box.
Tucked away just off Market Street, Meridian is an unassuming cafe operated by founder Dan.
It’s much more than a coffee shop, with a menu of Asian fusion dishes served in the cafe, as well as for grab-and-go lunches.
The lunch boxes start from just £5.80, which gets you a box absolutely packed to the brim with delicious Chinese and South East Asian items.
You start off with a base of either egg rice fried, chips, or noodles; then lash on a sauce like Malaysian curry, Thai sweet chilli, or satay.
Meridian in ManchesterThe Meridian lunch boxes in Manchester
As for the toppings, there’s a massive list including popcorn salt n chilli chicken, Japanese gyozas, roasted pork ribs, tofu bites, and crispy spicy beef.
Plans officially submitted for ‘vibrant’ new food hall in Wythenshawe
Emily Sergeant
Are you feeling hungry? Good, because a new food hall is on the horizon.
That’s right – plans to transform Wythenshawe Civic have taken another exciting leap forward this week, as Manchester City Council and placemaker Muse have submitted a planning application to bring a brand-new food hall to the town.
Set to be housed within the three units next to the former Peacocks store – which has now been demolished – the new food hall will become a ‘vibrant’ destination for independent and local food vendors to attract people with ‘delicious and diverse’ offerings.
Developers also hope the new food hall will keep the suburban Manchester town’s centre ‘bustling’ throughout the day and into the evening.
The announcement that the new food hall is in the works comes as part of the already-announced plans for Wythenshawe Civic – with work to soon begin on everything from the public realm, and outside space, to the vacant office space above the existing Iceland-store, which will also be transformed into modern new workspace to support local start-ups and bring new jobs into the town centre.
Developers also recently submitted three separate applications to create 422 new affordable homes for social rent across three locations in the town centre.
“Listening to local people over the last year and more, we know that Wythenshawe residents want more from their town centre – more things to do, opportunities to spend time in Civic and night time attractions that give the area a lift and attract visitors,” commented Cllr Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council.
“This is the drive behind the Culture Hub. A place for local people with an interest in the arts to take part in creative activities, see a show or enjoy the cinema space – right in the heart of their community.
“This is another exciting chapter in the transformation of Wythenshawe Town Centre.”
Joel Chandler, who is the Senior Development Manager at Muse, added that developers are ‘moving at pace’ with plans to give the town centre the ‘regeneration it deserves’.
“The food hall will be a hive for a range of local outlets and will provide new spaces for the community to spend time in and give the town’s nighttime economy a major boost.”
The Manc -
13th December 2021 
