SINGAPORE, May 16 — Vegans, vegetarians and those who have a taste for plant-based food items may soon have more choices when ordering meals online.

From May 21, food delivery company Deliveroo is partnering exclusively with American food company Impossible Foods to offer dishes and meals made from its plant-based products.

They will be on the menu of eight restaurant brands with a total of 33 outlets in Singapore, namely Fatboy’s the Burger Bar, FatPapas, Omakase Burger, Oriole Coffee + Bar, PappaRich, PS Cafe, Three Buns, and Wolf Burger.

Impossible Foods develops meat alternatives made from plants.

Deliveroo’s general manager Siddharth Shanker said: “We’ve seen a surge in demand for vegan or plant-based options in the past couple of years.”

Orders from vegetarian or vegan restaurants on its platform have gone up from 7 per cent in 2017 to 10 per cent in January this year.

Diners in Singapore have also been receptive to Impossible Foods’ meat substitutes so far, Deliveroo said.

Impossible Foods launched its plant-based meat in Singapore earlier in March by partnering eight restaurants, including Potato Head, Bread Street Kitchen by Gordon Ramsey and Cut by Wolfgang Puck.

The restaurants serve dishes containing the kosher and halal-certified “beef” from Impossible Foods.

Deliveroo noted that four restaurants have seen a 15 per cent average increase in patrons since they started serving dishes from Impossible Foods.

Mr Shanker said: “Introducing Impossible Foods on Deliveroo fits our strategy to offer more plant-based foods with a lower environmental impact.”

Impossible Foods is known for its Impossible Burger, made primarily from soy and potato proteins, coconut oil and sunflower oil.

The company genetically modifies yeast and uses fermentation to produce an iron-containing molecule called heme, which creates the flavour of meat and gives the patty its red colour.

The Impossible Burger is said to be more environment-friendly than one with a conventional ground beef patty, as it requires less water and land to produce while emitting less greenhouse gases and water pollutants.

On the latest development, Impossible Foods’ director of international launches Jordan Sadowsky said: “With nearly half of global meat consumption coming from Asia, it’s been a priority for us to find more ways to expand in the region.” — TODAY