Stena Launches Meatball Revolution

By replacing half of the meat in their meatballs with yellow pea mince, Stena Line aims to reduce meat consumption by 35 tons next year.

The company hopes the change will go unnoticed. The 50/50 meatballs will have half of the meat from their meatballs and mashed potato dish replaced with a plant-based mince made from yellow peas.

This means that the 2.5 million meatballs served on board each year will contain 35 tons less animal protein. In terms of climate impact, the new recipe means a reduction from 4.9 kilos of carbon dioxide equivalents to 1.3 per portion.

“Taste and quality-wise, it is exactly as good a product as before. But it makes a difference from a sustainability perspective,” says Jakob Lells, Group Executive Chef at Stena Line.

“We want to show our passengers that this is nothing to be afraid of. It is still a delicious and classic home-cooked dish with creamy mashed potatoes, lingonberries, and gravy. All the flavors are there, and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to notice any difference in a blind test,” says Lells.

Stena Line’s Food & Beverage team has made several sustainability efforts in recent years. After standardizing the menu on all ships, data could be collected to create a calculation tool that allowed food to be cooked fresh on order - an initiative that has led to a significant reduction in food waste.

Stena Line is one of Europe's leading ferry companies with 40 vessels and 20 routes in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean operating 33,000 sailings each year.

The new meatballs will be on the menu on all ships from February 13, 2025.