Volkswagen’s HQ Trades Iconic 50-Year-Old Sausage Recipe for Vegan Option
Volkswagen just announced that it plans to update its 50-year-old menu staple at its headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany to be vegan. The German automobile company has featured a signature currywurst dish at its headquarters for half a century and alongside its promise to redesign its company sustainable policies. Over recent years, the car company began innovating its company’s production facilities and cutting its carbon emissions to promote sustainability within the car industry. Now, the company will cease its inclusion of meat, except for fish, within its employee canteen.
The plant-based shift breaks the company's 48-year tradition, marking the first time that the company will move away from its renowned sausage brand. The motor vehicle company first launched its own sausage brand in 1973, and since then has expanded to restaurants across six factories as well as several supermarkets and football stadium concession stands. The company recorded that it sold 7 million of its sausage in 2019. The company noted that it produced more sausages than cars annually several times in the last 50 years.
VW Looks to Become More Sustainable
The car company’s effort is one change amid a broader effort to enhance the company’s sustainability policies. The company announced that it aims to become a carbon-neutral company by 2050, and plans to minimize its negative environmental impacts regarding production and distribution. The company has promised to reduce its CO2, water, and energy waste over the next 30 years. The company announced that it hopes to lower its environmental externalities by 45 percent compared to numbers recorded in 2010.
“When it comes to the emissions issue, we have failed to live up to our own standards in several areas. The irregularities in the handling of emissions tests contradict everything we stand for,” the company wrote on its website. “We will do everything in our power to prevent incidents of this kind from recurring, and are fully committed to re-embracing our standards and winning back public trust.”
Plant-based eating is the most recent tactic to reduce the company’s carbon footprint, but immediately saw backlash by several public figures. Ex-German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder came out against the car company’s decision, pleading with Volkswagen to reconsider its decision to exclude the traditional animal-based currywurst from its canteens.
“If I were still on the board of [Volkswagen], something like this would not have happened,” the Chancellor wrote on LinkedIn. “A vegetarian diet is good, and I do it myself in phases. But basically no currywurst? No!”
The decision to incorporate plant-based sausage also coincides with the rapidly rising vegan sausage market. A Future Market Insights report released in December 2020 concluded that the plant-based sausage market could be valued at $6.3 billion by 2028. The report signifies growing popularity in the vegan sausage sector, giving a reason for Volkswagen to shift its menu to meet rising demand.
“The plant-based sausages market growth is supported by a rising awareness pertaining health and the subsequent decrease in meat uptake,” a Future Market Insights analyst said. “This limited consumption of meat products has further ushered in a decline in production, making way for plant-based sausages market expansion.”
The company’s sustainability efforts are taking place across its entire company, pushing its production and distribution of electric cars over recent years. The company announced that its all-electric vehicle deliveries tripled over 2020.
Beyond the currywurst, the company extended its meat removal across approximately 150 recipes at the headquarters restaurant. The restaurant is slated to reopen following its August break, according to Automotive News. Eventually, CEO Herbert Diess plans to banish all factory-farm meat from the facility by 2025 to support its carbon reduction efforts. Last year, VW’s Nordwing restaurant began offering a vegetarian alternative to the brand’s 14,000 employees in its initial attempt to push plant-based foods.
"We want to show that vegetarian food can always be an alternative to eating meat," Thomas Kleiner–the kitchen manager at VW's Nordwind restaurant–told Fortune.
The Ultimate Vegan and Dairy-Free Ice Cream Taste Test
Van Leeuwen Vegan Mint Chip Ice Cream
This brand is one of the best anywhere and their vegan choices are no different. The mint chip went the distance in our "food duels" to come out on top in the final five. We loved the fact it tasted like the real thing. One note: It's higher in fat than most other formulas.
So Delicious Dairy-Free Oh-So Strawberry Coconut Milk Frozen Dessert
We have never seen kids go as crazy for ice cream as these testers did for this tub of strawberry. It literally was met with chants and screams that it tasted like "real strawberry." If you, too, love strawberry, this treat is for you. Even if you don't, we think it's worth a taste.
Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Buns Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert
If you love cinnamon, meet your new favorite treat. It's like if a cookie dough ball met a cinnamon bun. If you're carb-conscious, note there are 35 grams in a half-cup serving, and 25 grams of sugar.
Halo Top Dairy-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Halo Top is the best pick for a health-conscious cookie-dough loving ice cream seeker. A serving (half a cup) has 90 calories and 3 grams of protein so if you want the fun of a sweet cold treat with fewer cals, this is your best option. That said, the texture is smooth, so if you're looking for chunks of cookie dough this isn't the right pick for you.
Oatly Chocolate Ice Cream
Oatly does it again. First, they claimed the high road with their oat milk that took the nation by storm this past summer. Now they've introduced oat milk ice cream that—we swear—is as delish as the classic, and offers seven classic flavors including chocolate, vanilla, salty caramel, strawberry, and hazelnut. We tasted four and loved them all. With 218 calories for a 2/3 cup serving, 23 grams of carbs and 13 grams of fat, this treat is right in the middle of the pack, health-wise. But you'll love every spoonful.
Koku Moringa Mint Chip
We loved the mint taste and if you like a thinner texture, here's your pick. It tastes like frozen yogurt and on a hot day that makes for a refreshing change from the creamier options. This version has half the fat and sugar of other mint chip varieties we reviewed.
Halo Top Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream
Halo Top is super smooth (no need to microwave it right out of the freezer—you can just dig in with your spoon). Our testers loved the milkshake-like quality but there were no chunks of peanut butter cup to be found. Still, with 3 grams of protein and 4 grams of fat, this is among the less-indulgent choices.
365 Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Swirl Frozen Non-Dairy Almond Milk Dessert
This tasted like Moose Tracks, with chunks of chocolate chips and peanut butter swirls in it. We love that it boasts 5 grams of protein, but it also has 20 grams of sugar and 28 grams of carbs.
Van Leeuwen Vegan Peanut Butter Choc Chip Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert
This is one of the richest of the bunch, and Van Leeuwen always over-delivers on its promise of taste and texture. The zingy peanut buttery aftertaste means just a little will leave you super satisfied, which is good as it packs a punch in carbs, sugar and fat.
Häagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge Non-Dairy
This top-five winner was the most like the real thing, and everyone went crazy for it. The chunks of fudge were epic. It's slightly higher in cals than most other picks, but it also contains 6 grams of protein.
So Delicious Creamy Chocolate Cashewmilk Frozen Dessert
If what you love is a classic chocolate ice cream taste, this delivers. It is creamy and rich, and anyone avoiding coconut milk will appreciate the cashew milk option. Still, with 23 grams of carbs and 21 grams of sugar per 2/3 cup serving, we would limit our consumption to 1/3 a pint at a time.
So Delicious Dairy-Free Chocolate Coconut Milk Frozen Dessertge Template
For chocolate lovers, this is a great choice because it tastes like real ice cream and will satisfy your cravings. But if you're keeping an eye on saturated fat, this one is on the high end with 10 grams. Still, So Delicious has cracked the code on how to make a plant-based non-dairy ice cream that is ...so delicious!
Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert
Cookie dough is a specific kind of treat that's like Kryptonite for some people. We are those people. Ben & Jerry's has figured out not only how to make non-dairy ice cream taste like it's creamy dairy counterpart, but the cookie dough does, too. How do they do it? We don't care, we just want more. Caveat: One pint has 1050 calories, and a serving according to the label is 1/3 of a pint. With 49 grams of carbs per serving, proceed with caution.
NadaMoo! Dairy-Free Frozen Dessert, Birthday Cake Cookie Dough
Sometimes you think you don't love something but you just keep eating it. That was the experience with NadaMoo! Dairy-Free Birthday Cake Cookie Dough. It went fast. Even when some of the testers claimed it wasn't their favorite, they kept digging in for more. We say: Do you.
Koku Dark Cacao With Reishi Ice Cream
This one was so dark and rich it almost tasted like there was a cherry aftertaste. For dark chocolate lovers, this is the closest thing you'll get to a dark chocolate bar taste in ice cream. The coconut cream base adds a higher saturated fat content, but it's lower in sugar than other options on our list at only 9 grams.
NadaMoo! Dairy-Free Frozen Dessert, Dutch Chocolate
This chocolate treat has the least calories per serving of any that we tested, but still delivered all of the taste you're sure to want from chocolate ice cream. It had a mousse quality that made it fluffy and light. We love the fact that this family-owned company has been creating non-dairy treats for over 15 years and growing strong. Yesamooooo.
So Delicious Oatmilk Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream
This one had actual pieces of oatmeal cookie in it, and we watched the testers go completely bananas for it. The ice cream tasted like the real thing and the cookies were legit home-made quality. How they do this we don't know but if you love oatmeal cookies, you will love this flavor. Nutrition-wise, this option is higher in fat, carbs and sugar plus contains palm oil.
Halo Top Dairy-Free Oatmeal Cookie
Halo Top deserves kudos for trying to be the healthier choice among non-dairy treats, and we love the overall taste. But if you are looking for a chunky cookie filled ice cream, this isn't the choice for you. It's more like a frozen smoothie with an oatmeal cookie vibe. With just 70 calories and 3 grams of fat in half a cup, this is a great choice if you're watching your intake.
Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Salted Fudge Truffle Non-Dairy
If you love salty-sweet mash-ups, this is the one for you. But if you're not into salt—skip this. Haagen-Dazs knows what it's doing—and their dairy-free ice creams are as craveable as the classics. Don't worry about serving to non-vegans; they won't have a clue this is plant-based.
NadaMoo! Dairy-Free Frozen Dessert, Rockiest Road
If you like rocky road this will give you the fix you need. Our taste-testers loved the marshmallow sugary sweetness and rocky texture, but ultimately it didn't make our top five, which was a mystery to one tester who basically devoured the entire pint. That goes to show—every flavor has its fans. Lower in calories per serving sugar and carbs, so pls enjoy!
So Delicious Peachy Maple Pecan Cashewmilk Frozen Dessert
Maple is a specific taste and if you love maple syrup, reach for this fun treat. The testers all seemed to think it was *too* maple syrup-y but we found this to be a fun diversion from the usual suspects.
So Delicious Snickerdoodle Cashewmilk Frozen Dessert
This tastes like a gooey cinnamon roll (swoon) and was one of the favorites of all the ones we tasted. Made of cashew milk, this one is relatively lower in saturated fat (6 grams) and has 3 grams of protein per serving, but is slightly higher in carbs, at 34 grams.
Van Leeuwen Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream
The taste is a chocolate lover's delight and as with all Van Leeuwen Ice Creams, it is a rich, satisfying treat. We took points off for being higher in saturated fat, but we love that it has 3 grams of fiber.
Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert
Somehow they have mastered the art of creating non-dairy ice cream that tastes like the real thing. We love Ben & Jerry's flavors and their chocolate-y fudge brownie was a delight in particular. But for health, we took points off for the 27 grams of added sugar (over half your daily value) per serving.
Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Half Baked Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert
We don't blame anyone who wants to eat the whole pint—it's that good! This Ben & Jerry's flavor was among the top five overall winners of our entire plant-based ice cream taste test. It's so intense it's like eating half-baked brownies and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups coated in ice cream; AKA all our favorite flavors rolled together. Each serving has 43 grams of carbs and 28 grams of added sugar (that's 9 teaspoons!).
So Delicious Mint Chip Coconutmilk Frozen Desert
If you love mint, this treat delivers a satisfying fix. Our testers liked the fact that it was less thick in texture than some of the other ice creams we tasted, and on a hot day, it can feel refreshingly light and sweet without the heavy taste of some of the creamier choices.
NadaMoo! Dairy-Free Frozen Dessert, Lotta Mint Chip
We love NadaMoo! for going after the vegan market and coming out with a respectable mint chip treat with half the added sugars and carbs of some of their competitors. With 200 calories in a 2/3 cup and 6 grams of added sugar per serving, this is definitely among the healthiest of the treats. Enjoy!
So Delicious Dairy-Free Vanilla Bean Coconut Milk Frozen Dessert
When the vanilla bean in this dessert kicks in, you don't feel like you need any toppings or other flavors to enhance your satisfaction—it’s rich and full all on its own. That said, if you added a topping to it, non-vegans would never tell the difference. We took slight points off for the added sugar at 18 grams per serving, but it still comes in at a respectable 200 calories per serving.
So Delicious Cookies ‘n’ Cream Almondmilk Frozen Dessert
We loved the texture of this one which was like putting Oreo cookies in a blender with vanilla ice cream and freezing it up. The cookie taste infuses the entire ice cream so if you are an Oreo fan, this is your jam. Points off for high sugar (21 grams) but otherwise, this is a winning treat.
So Delicious Cookie Dough Coconutmilk Frozen Dessert
This was as sweet a treat as you could find, and the kids loved it. They enjoyed the chunks of cookie dough in the coconut milk and the ice cream base was thinner than some we tested—a nice counter touch to the rich, thick cookie dough. A bit high in carbs, fat and saturated fat, so if you're counting, keep an eye on your portion.
Van Leeuwen Vegan Choc Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
We're officially fans of every non-dairy dessert that Brooklyn-based Van Leeuwen makes—choc chip cookie dough is no exception. Rich and creamy, the raw cashew milk, coconut cream and cocoa butter base is to live for and makes for a truly decadent dessert.
Oatly Strawberry Ice Cream
Oatly has its act together, and this ice cream proves it. The newcomer to the freezer nudges aside some of the long-time favorites with its oat milk ice cream that tastes as good as—or better than—the real thing. We love the packaging, flavor, and attitude of this brand. It's a rich treat and anyone who loves strawberry will not be disappointed. Even non-strawberry lovers will be converted. One serving has 20 grams of sugar, but also 1.5 grams of fiber and a small amount of protein.