Ecovado: A Sustainable Avocado
Published 05 August 2022
As a way to mitigate the 9.5 billion litres of water used each day to grow avocados (World Economic Forum, 2020), Central Saint Martins graduate Arina Shokouhi has created Ecovado – a low-impact alternative boasting British-grown ingredients.
Working alongside UK-based food innovation technologist Jack Wallman, Shokouhi identified the chemical and molecular make-up of avocados to find local and low-impact equivalents. Using this insight, she created an avocado-less alternative containing a combination of home-grown ingredients – primarily broad beans, hazelnuts, apples and rapeseed oil.
While creamed hazelnuts bring fat and a nutty creaminess to the avocado alternative, cold-pressed rapeseed oil reflects the fatty acid profile of the fruit.
Meanwhile, Ecovado’s realistic avocado skin equivalent comprises a blend of wax and green food colouring – a biodegradable and compostable covering that can even be upcycled into a candle. Additionally, the avocado alternative holds either a walnut, chestnut or hazelnut in its centre, to evoke the fruit’s single large seed.
Shokouhi’s innovation appeals to eco-conscious British consumers who are willing to pay an average of 25% more for sustainable alternatives to usual products (Consultancy.uk, 2021). Also, the emphasis on home-grown ingredients reflects consumers’ sustained prioritisation of provenance and local produce.
Further innovative examples of brands developing planet-friendly equivalents to much-loved food staples include plant-nectar-based honey from US vegan start-up The Single Origin Food Co and waste-based nut-less peanut butter and chocolate from conscious US start-up Voyage Foods.
