Eosta develops YAMburger with Mc Donald’s; price 50 cents

(Note the date: April Fools ;-D )

The introduction of a meat and sugar tax in the Netherlands is expected to make cheap meat snacks, such as hamburgers, two to three times more expensive. Although this is good for the health of people and the planet, not everyone is happy about it. Eosta therefore developed the YAMburger together with Mc Donalds: it's organic, tasty, healthy and super cheap. The YAMburger will cost 50 eurocents - thanks to the upcoming reduction in VAT on fruit and vegetables.

Not everyone in the Netherlands is happy with the meat and sugar tax to be introduced this year. There is concern in the fast-food industry, because meat and sugar are the two main ingredients in this industry. Eosta, European market leader in organic fruit and vegetables, has been pleading for the introduction of a meat and sugar tax for many years, in addition to a reduction in VAT on (organic) fruit and vegetables.

Micheline Boudrie, managing director of Mc Donald’s in the Netherlands, therefore called Eosta to account, when she met Eosta director Volkert Engelsman at the Sustainable Foods Summit in Amsterdam last summer. In a debate about the future of food, she challenged Engelsman, saying: "If you want this, you need to come up with a solution". Eosta took up the challenge, resulting in the YAMburger.

The yam is a very old cultivar that has been grown in Asia for 3,000 years and is eaten as a staple food in tropical countries. Eosta imports organic purple yams from Cambodia. Apart from starch, these yams contain protein and a small amount of fat, which makes them ideal as a natural meat substitute. "Actually, you hardly need to add anything to make it tasty", explains Volkert Engelsman, CEO of Eosta. “Of course, you do need an organic bun, organic sauce and fried onions."

Mc Donald’s turned out to be interested, partly because of the favourable cost. This summer, the YAMburger will be tested by consumer panels, after which the production process will be scaled up. The burger is expected to be included in McDonald’s menu options in the summer of 2022.

Hamburger lovers who are interested to be on the tasting panel, are invited to sign up with yamburger@natureandmore.com. Participants are expected to be available on two work days between 15 April and 15 May.

Eosta, with trade mark Nature & More, has been pleading for a sugar tax, meat tax and VAT-free fruit and vegetables for years. Meat and sugar are heavily subsidised, directly and indirectly, while fresh fruit and vegetables are actually made too expensive. The new Dutch tax measures create a level playing field in the market, and will benefit public health and the environment.

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Contact and visual material:
Monique Mooij, Marketing Coordinator
E: monique.mooij@eosta.com
Telephone: +31 180 63 55 500