This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The British food tech company behind the UK’s first meatless “bleeding” burger will next week launch what it claims is the world’s first plant-based hot dog that looks and tastes just like its real pork equivalent.

Moving Mountains has used sunflower seeds as the main ingredient in the new hot dogs, which will go on sale in a London not-for-profit restaurant before reaching supermarkets later in the year.

The frankfurter-style sausage is 25cm (10in) long and also contains carrots, coconut oil, onion and paprika. The company’s founder, Simeon Van der Molen, claims the gluten-free sausage has “an identical taste and texture” to its pork counterpart, as well as being rich in vitamins.

The aim is to “make hot dogs desirable again’, said Van der Molen. “We use sunflower seeds to deliver an identical taste and texture, which is a more sustainable food option for our health and the health of the planet.”

It will make its debut at Unity Diner, a not-for-profit vegan restaurant in Shoreditch, London, on 10 May.

British supermarkets have scrambled to be the first to stock the most sophisticated fake meat products so far, the result of innovations to improve the taste and texture of vegetarian and vegan options that go well beyond the soya chunks and mince that have been available for years.

Moving Mountains made headlines last year when it created a vegan burger that “bleeds” beetroot juice, imitating a rare beef burger.

While some vegans may balk at the idea of eating an authentic-looking hot dog or burger, there is growing demand from the UK’s estimated 22 million “flexitarians”, who are trying to reduce their meat consumption.

Existing vegan and vegetarian hot dogs generally make no claims to closely replicate pork and are typically made of vegetable protein such as soya, and grains and other vegetables.

Bistros at the furniture giant Ikea this year started serving vegan hot dogs – made from kale, lentils, quinoa, onions and wheat protein – alongside its meatballs.

The supermarket chain Morrisons this month launched plant-based mini hot dogs with a filling made from jackfruit, while Sainsbury’s has trademarked a brand of sausages made from mushrooms.

• This article was amended on 3 May 2019 to add detail to a sentence that said existing vegan and vegetarian hot dogs are made primarily of vegetables.