Born as an experimental project between two students, Juicy Marbles has grown into one of the most innovative companies in the plant-based meat industry. From using makeshift bioreactors in Nutella jars to developing the revolutionary Meat-O-Matic Reverse Grinder 9000™️, the company has turned a curious idea into a thriving brand. In this interview, Magnus Ruben, Brand Strategy & PR Manager at Juicy Marbles, shares insights into the company’s journey, their unique approach to protein texturization, and the nutritional benefits of their products. He also discusses their sustainability strategies, the future of the alternative meat market, and the buzz around their first-ever plant-based ribs with an edible bone. With rapid growth and an expanding presence in major retail chains, Juicy Marbles is positioning itself as a key player in the food tech revolution, proving that great food can go hand in hand with innovation and sustainability.
How did the Juicy Marbles project start, and what led you to enter the plant-based meat industry?
“Juicy Marbles began as a dorm room passion project between two students who were experimenting with fermentation and bio-reactors in Nutella jars, exploring novel proteins. They eventually created something steak-like and had a friend build them a small “proof-of-concept” machine in exchange for two six-packs of beer. What started as a way to make affordable plant-based meat for themselves grew into a funded venture, leading to the establishment of Juicy Marbles’ first production facility. Our decision to enter the industry arose from intense curiosity, a desire to transform an astonishingly inefficient food system, and perhaps a touch of hubris. With our first prototype machine, the Meat-O-Matic Reverse Grinder 9000, we knew we’d made something that the rest of the industry hadn’t yet arrived at. That was the first time we dared to think: “this might actually work.” Through a surreal sequence of events, our first prototypes got us into Y-Combinator. Fortunately for us, 2020 was the time to be in plant-based, so we secured enough extra funding to build our first facility and make our first of hires”.
Can you explain your protein texturization technology and how it differs from other techniques in the plant-based protein market?
“Without getting into the nitty-gritty, our production process uses some fairly rudimentary technology to arrive at our signature texture. We don’t use a lot of fancy gadgets that you couldn’t find elsewhere in the industry. The magic occurs in how we combine various plant-based proteins, fats, and flavors. You could say it’s more of a ‘secret recipe’ than some paradigm-shifting piece of IP. Think of it less as a technological breakthrough and more as a meticulous craft”.
From a nutritional standpoint, what are the main benefits of your products?
“One of the main criticisms of plant-based foods is that they are nutritionally… ‘fluffy’. In most cases, you have to eat a lot of volume in order to get a comparable amount of macro and micronutrients. On the flip side, plant-based foods don’t contain so-called ‘bad’ cholesterol and are, generally, lower in fat and carcinogens. What I love about our products is that they combine the best of both worlds. Since the beginning, we’ve aimed to make products that are packed with comparable amounts of protein and vital micronutrients, while maintaining low levels of fat. A single portion of Juicy Marbles gets you, at minimum, 20g of high quality protein, most of your daily fibre requirements, and a healthy dose of B12 and iron, with less than 10 grams of fat. With our latest clean-label recipe, ‘Marble 3.0,’ we’ve increased protein levels even further, enriched the nutritional profile with hard-to-get vitamins like selenium, and streamlined the ingredient list by removing methylcellulose and carrageenan – without compromising texture or taste”.
What are your key sustainability practices and goals in terms of environmental impact?
“At this point, beef is a famously destructive food source. It is wildly inefficient – only a minuscule percentage of the calories fed **to a cow are converted to calories **you can eat. Combine that with methane emissions, contribution to biodiversity loss, and water consumption, and the environmental cost is staggering. When we started Juicy Marbles, the idea of tackling steak as the first product was not only exciting from a problem-solving perspective, but also because it was an opportunity to give people a worthy alternative to beef that wouldn’t leave them feeling as if they’d lost one of their favorite eating experiences”.
Your edible-bone ribs have sparked a lot of conversation. What message do you want to convey with this unique approach to a dish traditionally associated with sharing?
“We wanted to convey that plant-based food can and should be fun, messy, and a bit hedonistic at times. The first prototypes of the ribs were the result of what was essentially a dare – we just wanted to see if we could do it. Then, one of those wonderful things happened where the result turned out much better than we anticipated. What we realized while eating those first few batches of Ribs was that we were having fun. Eating those ribs gave us the same, for lack of a better word, primal feeling of eating meat with our hands. It sort of made us realize that ‘meat culture’ is about so much more than just the food. It’s about the ritual of it. Say what you will about how ridiculous plant-based ribs with bones are, but what we’ve found after selling them for over two years now is that our customers missed this experience just as much as we did”.
How do you see the plant-based meat market evolving in the coming years, and what role do you aim to play in this landscape?
“Predicting the future of the plant-based industry can be a fool’s errand. Five years ago, people asserted a ‘vegan world’ was inevitable by 2030… While there hasn’t been anywhere near the growth we expected in the alternative protein space, it is slowly making it’s way into the mainstream. And the better plant-based foods become, the faster that adoption will accelerate. Ultimately, people will come to plant-based proteins at their own pace. When they do, it’s our job to offer them something so good, so effortless, that it becomes a natural part of their eating habits without a second thought”.
Your products are already available online, are you planning to expand into physical stores or large-scale retail distribution?
“We launched in retail in February 2023, beginning in Waitrose in the United Kingdom, where shoppers cleared their stock in just four days. Since then, we’ve expanded to the other major retailers in the UK, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Whole Foods. We’re also sold across Europe, including (but not limited to) Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, and Slovenia. Our total footprint is over 2,200 stores across Europe and the UK”.
Are you currently working on new products to expand your range?
“There’s always something new in the pipeline, but most recently we released ‘Meaty Meat’. You can read all about it in our press release. We went a little off the beaten track with our first flavor, Lamb, but during the launch in the US, we sold out in less than 24 hours. In addition to new products, we’re constantly improving the cuts we already offer. In 2024, we updated our Bone-In Ribs with a new clean label recipe called Marble 3.0. The new recipe removed some unpopular ingredients like carageenan and methycellulose, while simultaneous boosting the protein content, the spectrum of nutrients, and reducing fat. Meaty Meat incorporates Marble 3.0, and we hope to migrate our whole portfolio soon”.
