World’s First Regenerative Burger

Set foot in the dutch plant-based fast cuisine company Jack Bean and you’ll realise that this company’s purpose is all about delicious food with a great impact. If you’re lucky you’ll be welcomed by Pepijn or Mathijs, the ever so passionate founders of Jack Bean. They were the first in the world to create a 100% regeneratively produced burger sandwich.

This impressive achievement does not imply that Pepijn and Mathijs are digging the soil in their spare time after closing their restaurants in the evening. For a burger to be regenerative, one needs regeneratively produced crops. This practice happens to be the specialty of Klompe Landbouw and Soil Heroes. In 2021, the dutch plant-based fast cuisine company partnered with the farm Klompe Landbouw and Soil Heroes to create a positive environmental impact within their supply chain.

The Partnership for a Future-Proof Supply Chain

Helping to create a healthier food system for people and the planet, Jack Bean produces almost zero-waste with its 100% plant-based fast food, which is sourced solely from local, sustainable suppliers. Soil Heroes challenged them to take this achievement to an even higher level.

Soil Heroes initiates partnerships between regenerative farms and ambitious companies, of which both parties invest and profit. Klompe Landbouw has been supplying crops to Jack Bean for some time now, but by involving Soil Heroes, impact value was added to this partnership. Jack Bean now also invests in the transition to regenerative farming on the farmlands of Klompe Landbouw.

At Klompe Landbouw, wildflower lanes and cover crops provide habitats for pollinators and insects whilst also contributing to the biodiversity of the soil. Improving water retention capacity through plants’ root systems prevents surface run-off and flooding, and helps build resilience to climate change as well as increasing nutrients in the soil. Bio-fertilizers add essential minerals and organic matter to the soil. All these regenerative farming techniques create very healthy soil, which sustainably produces more nutritious crops.

Soil Heroes monitors, verifies, and quantifies the positive environmental impact, made possible by carbon insetting (carbon sequestration, water storage, and increased biodiversity). Insetting opportunities lead to long-term relationship building that can regenerate the food system. It adds value to the dual purpose of Soil Heroes; environmental and commercial gain for both the farmer and the company.

With Soil Heroes facilitating the partnership, an initial pilot investment across 2 hectares of the farm enabled Jack Bean to capture some of its emissions through the cultivation of cereals, pulses, and vegetables. These crops were then prepared in Jack Bean kitchens and served in its restaurants.

In its first year with Soil Heroes, Jack Bean’s investment enabled 8.78 tons of carbon sequestration (equal to the emissions of 2900 hamburgers), 2000 litres of additional water storage (as much as one human drinks in 2,5 years), and 97m² of biodiversity. Together, Jack Bean and Klompe Landbouw made a very important first step in regenerating their supply chain.

This Successful Pilot Leaves You Wanting More

After the first successful pilot with Soil Heroes and Klompe Landbouw in 2021, Jack Bean decided to scale up its commitment to cover 15 hectares of the farm. As a result, the farm will now be able to supply them with 15 different types of vegetables, grains, and pulses, all grown specifically for Jack Bean using regenerative farming practices.

Jack Bean leads by example within its own supply chain. Every dish on the Jack Bean menu includes ingredients that are farmed regeneratively at Klompe Landbouw – set to soon constitute 80% of all ingredients. As Jack Bean sources more and more from the farm, the effects are rippling throughout their entire supply chain, with their kitchens and caterers finding new ways to work with the delicious seasonal produce.

Pepijn and Mathijs have been busy building a fully regenerative supply chain for Jack Bean ever since they opened their first restaurant in Rotterdam in 2018. An additional restaurant and central production kitchen opened in 2020. In 2022, a new restaurant will open in Amsterdam.

“From the get-go, I saw it as my responsibility as a restaurateur and chef to translate what happens in the field. I was born and raised on a farm, my Mum bred horses, so the connection to the soil has always been very important to me.”
– Pepijn Scmeink

Jeroen Klompe, a 4th generation farmer, wants his family-run farm to be a showcase for the impact of regenerative farming practices on soil health and a thriving ecosystem. He set up Soil Heroes to help other farms transition to regenerative farming, and to build a more resilient food system with fairer, shorter supply chains.

“The big problem is the unknown. So, education, more research, proof of practice, and evidence is the most important thing… and business models. If there is a good business model for improving your soil long-term, and the capacity to take that next step, then you have to have clients who are rewarding you for the good things you’re doing.”
– Jeroen Klompe

Could My Company Achieve the Same?

This partnership illustrates the impact driven, step-by-step approach of Soil Heroes. Companies like Jack Bean, which want to make as positive an environmental impact as possible throughout their supply chain, now have the potential to do so through carbon insetting. As well as cutting emissions, insetting opportunities lead to long-term relationship building that can regenerate the food system.

Investors who are keen to learn and develop can use the Soil Heroes digital platform to understand the direct impact of carbon insetting through regenerative farming. The interface provides data on carbon sequestration, water storage, ecosystem services, and soon, nutritional values.

Want to contact us directly? Please email Rubie van Crevel, our Business Development Manager for Europe, using the link below.