Akofame vegan butter alternative

So, we recently joined forces with the Food Matters Live team to spread the word about our new vegan butter alternative, Akofame. Made from shea, coconut and rapeseed oil, Akofame can be used like-for-like in place of butter, or in conjunction with butter in any recipe, apart from those which require laminated pastry. Palm and allergen free, it looks, tastes and performs just like butter, but costs less.

Akofame is therefore great news for food manufacturers, chefs and new recipe developers, and FML helped us to send samples out for their UK network to try. All we asked was for people to give it a go – make what they usually make – but use Akofame instead of butter.

Fantastic feedback

The feedback we received was just fantastic. You can read all about it here.

However, here are a couple of our favourite quotes…

Keiron George, the award-winning former Hotel Café Royal pastry chef who starred in Bake Off :The Professionals in 2021, said: “This has the same buttery smell, taste and acts just like the real thing!”. After whipping up a batch of golden fruity breakfast waffles, he said: “Honestly, I couldn’t tell the difference.”

Liz Howard, from Ugo Foods Group, said: “We have tried this in a pastry recipe and were really impressed with the product. The butter replacer was easy to work with and the final pastry had a great even colouring, a short crumbly texture and the flavour was balanced as well. It worked well on our bread. I have discussed with our development chef, and we will look to use this in future vegan pasta development.”

In addition to loving Akofame, people’s creativity in terms of the dishes they made and photographs they took, was inspirational! Huge thanks to everyone who took part, as well as to the Food Matters Live team – your efforts are very much appreciated!

Versatile and easy to use

Akofame is a great choice too for those looking to produce products which will appeal to consumers who are keen to make sustainable food choices. You could lower your carbon footprint by switching to a plant-based alternative, because the cows which produce the milk used in dairy-based bakery fats such as butter, produce large volumes of the greenhouse gas methane.

Akofame can be stored ambiently for four and half months. It is allergen free and contains neither genetically modified ingredients nor hydrogenated fats.

Beat the latest export challenges

It can also make exporting to Europe easier – as plant-based products don’t have to go through additional checks like foods containing animal products.

Find out more

We are committed, here at AAK, to working with you to develop tastier and healthier plant-based foods. If you would like to try Akofame, or have a project you’d like to discuss with us, please do get in touch. The fat in your plant-based product can make all the difference to its taste, functionality, nutritional value and sustainability. We look forward to hearing from you.