Gemma and Marta are the founders of Planet G an award-winning catering and food truck company producing delicious food which happens to be plant-based.
The company sought the expertise of the Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation (SCFDI) to assist with the development of a special sauce ( to be used for burgers, as a dip for polenta chips) which needed to be ambient and shelf stable for a longer life compared to chilled, utilising the SCFDI’s food science and product development knowledge we hoped we could produce a recipe to fit this criteria.
The project was funded by Scottish Funding Council’s Standard Innovation Voucher.
The company were involved throughout each stage of the project, as Gemma is an authentic and innovative chef and agreed 1 recipe version, although not exactly to the brief, there were learnings for both clients and SCFDI which proved valuable to the project.
Overall we had a very good experience working with Queen Margaret University. While we didn’t achieve the initial target, the insights gained throughout the process became the foundation for developing other successful products.
- The Brief
- The Research
- The Outcome
The aim was to produce a great tasting, vegan, chef approved, shelf stable, ambient emulsified special sauce for use by Planet G in the foodservice space.
Aspirations were to utilise food technology to emulsify, regulate with acid and use heat treatment to produce a product which would have a longer ambient shelf life.
Throughout the project there was assessment of product technical parameters to test rigor on shelf stability - we investigated the methods to make shelf stable by heat treatment of whole emulsified product and tested acidity regulation with the use of additional added acids and we were able to reduce the pH without affecting the flavour to a detriment, the clients accepted the slight change of flavour.
The heat treatment of emulsified products proved elusive with wide-ranging attempts using different recipes, ingredient combinations and using different time/temp protocols within the confines of the equipment available for the heat treat process.
After a series of attempts to develop a recipe with low water content we had methodology fails in determining water activity measurement, this was found to be uncertain and therefore within the time frame, the project’s original aim could not be achieved.
Ultimately the decision was made alongside the client to look at the potential for increasing a chilled shelf life. To do this we looked at the microbiological load of each ingredient and determined that the spices were main culprits of microbial growth. Therefore, the team adapted the product methodology to inhibit their growth over shelf life.
We utilised the microbiology technologist within the university and assessed the formulation over a period of 3 weeks and were able to achieve a chilled shelf life of between 14-16 days without the addition of a preservative*. The client reviewed and approved the formulation from a organoleptic point of view.
(*guidance only – shelf life must be determined from production conditions via a UKCAS accredited laboratory)
The company were provided with an information pack for the final variant. The information pack included formulations, methodologies including equipment recommendations, ingredient supplier information and nutritional and ingredient declarations for on pack labelling, if the recipe developed at the end of the project was used.
The Planet G Team went on to have huge success in various events though summer of 2025. Supplying Fringe by the Sea – North Berwick; Stockbridge Market and Leith Market
Throughout the project SCFDI provided knowledge exchange of the key principles of developing a sauce which Planet G have applied to develop new products to add to their offering. New products were recently showcased at @vegfestlife illustrating.
