Environmentally conscious consumers can chomp away guilt-free from Seven-Eleven Japan Co.'s new lineup of eight items using soybeans as a meat substitute.

But calorie counters should look elsewhere to fill their tummies. 

“We do not promise that our products will help anyone lose weight,” said Hirotaka Takahashi, head of Seven-Eleven’s product department.

Seven-Eleven Japan released the soya meat items in seven prefectures in the Kyushu region in southern Japan on Aug. 25.

The leading convenience store chain expects demand will grow further for products utilizing soybeans as its main ingredient with the public's increasing interest in health and environmental protection.

It is looking to make such products available outside Kyushu by year-end as well after checking the sales results in the region.

The new items to hit the shelves in phases at Seven-Eleven outlets include a loco moco bowl with a hamburger steak made of soybeans as well as two kinds of burgers in different flavors.

Also among them are a hot dog that replaces meat in the sausage with soybeans. A “tantan” ramen and a rice ball use ground meat-like soya paste, according to company representatives.

While all are free of meat, a beef extract is used in some of the products for seasoning.

Seven-Eleven is catering to younger generations who have great concern over environmental issues. 

It is taking advantage of the fact that soybeans are friendlier to the environment than raising cattle and pigs, which require huge amounts of food and water. 

Many food makers have commercialized soya-based products to promote a meat alternative, although it has not taken root in the Japanese market. The reason, Takahashi said, is likely the “unappetizing taste” of soya meat.

According to Takahashi, the insipid flavor of the meat substitute keeps customers from consuming soy products repeatedly.

To overcome the problem, Seven-Eleven spent an entire year developing new products by comparing the soybean protein size and other factors based on numerical data, so the taste would be similar to that of actual meat.

DIFFICULT TO DISTINGUISH FROM MEAT

How do the newly released products taste?

A cheeseburger with lettuce is intended to be heated in a microwave oven so the flavor of the soya meat can be fully enjoyed. A bite of the 2-centimeter patty boasts a chewy, elastic feeling like meat.

The taste resembles that of meat so much that it would be difficult for customers to tell the soya meat from its real counterpart if they do not know a meat substitute was used.

The product sampled next was a sesame-featured cold tantan ramen using soy meat flavored with “jan” seasoning, combined with soy milk. A morsel of the soya meat is totally identical to that of ground meat.

Even taking into account the strongly seasoned flavor, it is surprising the processed soybean tastes like real meat.

WEIGHT LOSS UNLIKELY

Consuming the two products is enough to make one feel full, given that the calorie levels of the burger and ramen are 520 kilocalories and 719 kilocalories, respectively, according to their labeling.

Although soybeans’ calorie count is said to be two-thirds that of beef, the overall number is not dramatically reduced since many other ingredients and seasonings are used for the finished products.

The tasty meat-free articles, therefore, are not expected to be chosen from among other similar products by calorie-conscious dieters but instead by environmentally conscious shoppers.

In a similar effort, Seven-Eleven on Sept. 1 marketed three new bread products, using butter fashioned from soya milk cream to substitute for animal-derived products, in Kyushu which is home to 2,300 Seven-Eleven stores that lure in a total of 2.5 million consumers daily.

Asked why Seven-Eleven selected Kyushu as the location to test those novel items ahead of elsewhere, Takahashi cited the tendency of people in the area to “take on new challenges actively” as the reason.

“If our strong environmentally friendly message, along with the delectable tastes of the products, are recognized, they will be widely accepted in the rest of the nation as well,” he said.