Food of champions: Liverpool FC announces Quorn as ‘sustainable protein partner’

Quorn has been enrolled into the club’s “Reds Go Green” sustainability initiative

The multi-year partnership was confirmed on the eve of Liverpool’s historic title win, with staff at the club now able to celebrate with vegetarian and vegan foods.

Quorn will provide new food options to match-going supporters when stadiums eventually re-open, and will also work with the club’s nutrition team to extend the choice of low-carbon protein soruces amongst its playing staff.

Liverpool FC’s chief commercial officer Billy Hogan said: “As a leading provider of sustainable meat-free products in the UK, Quorn will be a key partner in the Club’s sustainability efforts. In this case, Quorn will help us provide our supporters with more sustainable food alternatives on matchdays.

“We look forward to providing a platform to help our fans, employees and playing staff make positive contributions to tackling climate change while at the same time considering their health and wellbeing.”

Quorn has been enrolled into the club’s “Reds Go Green” sustainability initiative, with the food manufacturer acting as a sustainable protein partner. The brand’s meat alternatives produce 90% less emissions and use 90% less water and land compared to beef mince equivalents.

The Reds Go Green initiative has been running since 2012 and has seen the club introduce efforts to slash carbon emissions and promote food waste solutions and cut back on single-use plastics.

Quorn’s marketing director Gill Riley said: “Our partnership with Liverpool FC is very important to our Quorn vision, which is to provide food that is healthy for our families and the planet. We also want to understand the positive impact Quorn’s super-protein can have on elite sports performers, so working with LFC and its world-renowned nutritional experts will be fundamental in the next phase of our sports science research.”

Quorn has previously partnered with some of the most well-known high street food chains, including Greggs’ vegan version of its popular steak bake. The new version is made using fungi-based protein Quorn and has already proven a huge hit, attracting queues of up to 20 minutes.  

KFC, meanwhile, has introduced a vegan ‘chicken’ burger to its menu as a permanent addition, following successful trials. It is marketing the burger, again made using Quorn, with taglines such as “new burger, who dis?” and “11 herbs and spices. Zero chicken.”

Earlier this year, Quorn Foods announced that it would introduce labels detailing the carbon footprint of its products to some of its most popular lines.

The new labels will provide carbon emissions data on a “farm to shop” basis and will be rolled out across 60% of the company’s products, by volume, this year. In the interim as new packaging is introduced, Quorn Foods is publishing carbon footprint information on 30 of its products on its website.

Matt Mace

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