Tofu is a great unknown. This product made from soybeans is not yet well established among Galicians, who prefer meat as the main source of protein. To bring tofu closer to the people, demonstrating that it is tasty and offers multiple consumption possibilities, Tofu Landeira is working on the manufacture of several organic products made in Galicia.
“What I’m trying to do is make a tofu that I’m proud of, that’s different from the others. A tofu that a non-vegetarian eats raw and likes it.”, explains the head of the company, José Antonio Landeira. The taste of this product is very special beacause its absorbs the flavors in which it is macerated, so the manager of the firm decided to go for a proposal suitable for eating raw and that would please both citizens: who are accustomed to tofu as well as those who are trying it for the first time.
The beginnings
The head of the company is an agronomist engineer and always wanted to create his own closed-cycle company: from cultivation to exploitation, processing and sale. After traveling around different countries, Landeira returned to Galicia and in 2017 in 2017 he developed the idea with a vegan partner, who would later disassociate himself from the project. “I didn’t just want to look for a vegan alternative but a different food alternative to not always eat animal protein,” Landeira explains. The company began as Feixón Máxico and once the product was consolidated, the name was changed to Tofu Landeira.
The head of the brand confesses that he has always been interested in vegetables and their nutritional importance. “The intention from the beginning was to grow our own organic soybeans in Galicia to be a differentiated crop”, explains Landeira. The company carried out this year the first grain harvest and plans to launch in 2022 the first limited series of Galician tofu with organic soybeans.
Tofu Landeira products
Tofu Landeira currently markets two products: natural tofu and processed tofu. Both are made with imported organic soybeans, but from 2022 the company will have its own options. Tofu is the “emblem” of the brand, but they are already working on other soybean transformation possibilities to launch new products on the market.
“Our intention is to launch a hamburger. We have already been testing it for a few months with a couple of hamburger restaurants to see how well it is accepted by the public”, explains Landeira. The company is working on other gastronomic proposals such as a vegetarian parmesan cheese made from soybeans.
Tofu Landeira wants to encourage people to try vegetarian or vegan products and show that it is possible to incorporate them into their daily lives for a varied diet. To achieve this goal, the brand has opted for a tofu that can be eaten simply by taking it out of the jar. “Our tofu can be eaten raw and tastes good, in small cubes in a salad as if it were cheese,” explains the owner of the company.
The commitment of the head of the company to organic farming is mainly due to the desire to obtain soybeans of the highest possible quality, free of pesticides and nitrates. The tofu, both natural and smoked, is being a success in neighborhood stores or specialized in organic and sustainable food.
The essence of the project, Landeira summarizes, is the exploitation of soybeans and the launch of products made for human consumption. The essence of the project, Landeira summarizes, is the exploitation of soybeans and the launch of products made for human consumption. This Galician brand with its own organic cultivation is here to stay, launching a product that is increasingly in demand and demonstrating that tofu can be liked even by people who hate it.
