Frequently asked questions

Tempeh is a naturally delicious and nutritious plant-based food that originated in Indonesia over 300 years ago. It is made through fermenting soybeans, or any other legume, nut, grain or seed, to naturally transform them into a firm block that's even more packed with protein and fibre, delicious and versatile - to ‘better nature’, you might say. What's more, it also counts as one of your five a day.

Typically, people describe tempeh as having quite a nutty taste and a very firm and rich texture. It’s great by itself as a base ingredient for dishes like Teriyaki Tempeh, or flavoured like our Smoky Tempeh Rashers or BBQ Tempeh Pieces. We don’t really think there’s anything else like it - it's an extraordinary food in its own right - which is why it's so game-changing.

It’s simple really - tempeh is one of the most naturally delicious, nutritious and sustainable foods on the planet, and we just don’t think this is celebrated enough. We think tempeh has the potential to help people all over the world live healthier and happier lives, without harming the planet in the process.

Tempeh production begins by soaking, dehulling and partly cooking soybeans (or any other legumes, nuts, grains or seeds of your choosing). The soybeans are then mixed with a 100% natural culture. The soybeans are later spread into a thin layer and are allowed to ferment for 24 to 36 hours at a temperature of about 30°C (although we’ve developed technology to make this process faster, without compromising nutritional value and actually enhancing the taste). Later, the temperature of the soybeans will naturally rise and rapid growth of mycelium (the white/cream stuff you see around the beans, binding them together) occurs for about 4 hours. As the growth declines, the soybeans are bound into a solid mass by the mycelium and your tempeh is ready.

Tempeh can be made out of any legume, nut, grain or seed. We’ve experimented with everything and anything from quinoa to spirulina to chia to chickpeas - we’re reinventing tempeh, so get excited.

Tempeh is great for the gut for three main reasons:

1. It’s high in fibre (especially prebiotics), feeding the good bacteria in the gut 
2. It contains remnants of microorganisms from its fermentation which can stimulate the immune system and help keep you healthy 
3. It contains polyphenols that act as antioxidants, catching harmful free radicals found in the gut cells. What an extraordinary food it is. 

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Tempeh itself is naturally gluten-free and nut-free but it does typically contain soybeans. All of our products are gluten-free but contain soya. If you have any allergies, please always check the ingredients list as the allergens can vary between different kinds of tempeh.

Raw tempeh provides a good supply of gut-friendly microorganisms like probiotics and these are lost when it’s cooked or pasteurised. However, the rest of the nutritional benefits of tempeh like its protein and fibre content, the remnants of microorganisms, its micronutrients like iron and calcium and so on, are all maintained after cooking. Cooked or pasteurised tempeh is more reliably safe to eat too, so on balance we think it's the better choice.

Very little, if any - it's very quick and relatively mild. It certainly doesn’t do anything that wouldn’t then be done when cooking the tempeh. But don’t fear, cooked tempeh is still packed with goodness and great for you. Cooked and pasteurised tempeh is also more reliably safe to eat so on balance we think it's the better choice.

You can buy our tasty tempeh from selected Tesco stores and Tesco.com. Our tempeh is also available on Amazon, in Planet Organic and various independent stores across the country. Please keep checking our social media pages for updates on stockists.

Yes, all of our products are 100% vegan. We also make an active effort not to use animal products in any aspect of the business, from our research to our marketing materials.

Our Organic Tempeh is but the rest of the range is not. While we love organic food and recognise its benefits, we've decided to offer variety to cater to as many people as possible, and to make sure our naturally nutritious products are affordable and accessible to all. This wasn't an easy decision but as our mission is to help as many people as possible to live healthier lives, we think it is the right one.

Our products do need to be refrigerated, even before they’re opened. Specific storage instructions will be on the packaging of each product.

Yes they can (for up to 2 months). However, all our products except our Organic Tempeh and Smoky Tempeh Rashers need to be removed from their packaging and popped into a freezer-friendly bag to do so, as the packaging is not freezer-friendly. Please note that freezing can impact the taste and texture of the products.

We have loads of naturally delicious tempeh recipes to get your tummy rumbling and creative juices following on our recipes page, or on our Instagram page. All of our tempeh have cooking instructions on them too, along with a recommended recipe. If you have a specific question that hasn't been answered elsewhere, feel free to reach out to us - we're always keen to help people create the tastiest tempeh dishes possible.

Our products have a minimum of 14 days shelf life from delivery on our online shop (this may different if bought elsewhere, as this is decided by the shop itself). Once the tempeh has been opened, we recommend consuming it within 48 hours. However, please do check the specific instructions on the packaging as it may vary for different flavours. Please note, black or grey spots on tempeh are a normal by-product of their fermentation and do not suggest it has gone off.

Not at all. Our tempeh is totally safe to eat as it is as it has already been pasteurised, we just think it tastes better cooked. So, don’t be worried about any health risks to not cooking it thoroughly enough - just cook it to your taste.

Yes, our tempeh is pasteurised. We do this to make it safer to eat and to keep it fresher for longer. Pasteurisation has very little, if any, impact on how nutritious the tempeh is - it's very quick and relatively mild. It certainly doesn’t do anything that wouldn’t then be done when cooking the tempeh. But don’t fear, cooked tempeh still maintains most of the good stuff and is great for you.

We believe that truly extraordinary food has to do good by you and the planet. That's why, protecting the planet is a priority in everything we do. Being a start-up, we're not perfect at all and we have and will make mistakes. But we're always doing our best and constantly striving to be better. When you tuck into your Better Nature tempeh, you're enjoying food that has a very low carbon footprint, verified by My Emissions’ farm to fork analysis. And you're making a positive impact on people’s lives as we donate 1% of our sales to tackle malnutrition in Indonesia, the home of tempeh. We're also in the process of becoming a B Corp - we're currently waiting for feedback on our application. Learn more about our mission, values and approach to sustainability on our About Us and Planet Positive pages. If you have any questions regarding this or any suggestions for us, we'd love to hear from you.

We’re the first to admit it, the use of plastic packaging for our products is not ideal at all and it frustrates us a lot.

The reasons for it are that packing legumes in plastic before fermentation helps make the fermentation process more accurate (in terms of the oxygen levels, temperature, humidity etc.), which then makes it a more efficient and reliable way to produce tempeh. This reduces the chances of any tempeh getting wasted.

It is possible to produce tempeh without the use of plastic, but it is a lot harder and opens up the possibility of spoilage and an inconsistent quality of products. This being said, we are always working on improving our production process and have plans to implement better practices with less plastic involved in the near future.

Additionally, after being fermented, tempeh needs to be vacuum packed to halt the fermentation process continuing. Otherwise, it would keep interacting with the oxygen in the air, happily fermenting away until it eventually spoils (tempeh is very tricky business).

So, to extend tempeh’s shelf-life, reduce the likelihood of any spoilage and make it suitable for wider distribution, the use of plastic packaging is, unfortunately, currently necessary.

Our soybeans are sourced from Canada. We source all our beans from ethical and sustainable farms, some of which are organic and some non-organic. Our beans are sent to our Tempeh HQ using as minimal emissions as possible, as reflected in our products' very low carbon footprint, verified by an independent third-party My Emissions.

Our tempeh is produced in the Netherlands. We would love to produce our tempeh in the UK but due to tempeh being a very new food to the UK market and us being a small company, it's not feasible for us for now. That being said, we've found some excellent, ethically-minded partners to work with and we don't use air freight (the greatest cause of CO2 emissions in transport) for any of our ingredients or products. While the travel of ingredients and products is sometimes unavoidable, we make a huge effort to keep the emissions at a minimum. These emissions are factored into our carbon rating, which is A ("very low carbon footprint") for all our products. We've received our carbon rating from an independent third-party My Emissions. We also have some exciting plans around our tempeh production for the future, and will of course keep you updated as things develop.

No, none of our ingredients or products have hopped on a plane. While the travel of ingredients and products is sometimes unavoidable, we make a big effort to keep the emissions at a minimum. When you tuck into your tempeh, you're enjoying food that has a very low carbon footprint, verified by My Emissions’ farm to fork analysis. It’s also Carbon and Plastic Neutral as we offset the carbon and plastic used to make our tempeh.

Tempeh in glass jars is preserved differently to our tempeh. Due to this, it differs in texture and taste compared to our tempeh - it's much softer and doesn't absorb flavours as well due to its higher water content. We try to stay as true as possible to the real deal and celebrate tempeh’s uniquely firm texture and satisfying taste, which is why we produce and package our tempeh the way we do.

We are based in London (UK), along with the majority of the team, but we also have team members in Bogor (Indonesia) and Maribor (Slovenia). We’re a company with proud Indonesian roots and a desire to give back to the incredible Indonesian culture that has given us the gift of tempeh, but with an international perspective - as reflected in our team.

We (Driando, Chris, Elin and Fabio) came up with the idea for the business at the end of 2018, but we didn’t finalise our name or brand until April 2019 and we didn't launch our first product range until January 2020. So it’s been a bit of whirlwind since then, but we've loved it! We're so grateful to be able to spend our time celebrating the incredible food that is tempeh and getting more and more people excited about eating naturally delicious and nutritious food. Thank you so much for your support which has allowed us to do that.

We all fell in love with tempeh and plant-based eating for different reasons. Some of us through environmental reasons, some through animal rights, some through health reasons, some through a passion for shining a spotlight on this incredible but often overlooked Indonesian food, and some a mix of them all. What brought us all together was simply a desire to help people to live healthier and happier lives - through protecting people and our planet alike. Tempeh was just the perfect way to do so.