The mung bean is a small green legume that has been grown in Asia for thousands of years. In Sweden many know it as the bean sprouts in the vegetable aisle. But the mung bean has far more to offer. Whole and cooked, it has a mild, nutty flavour and a fine, firm texture. It also has natural properties that let it hold food together without added binders.

Where is the mung bean grown?

The mung bean originates in Asia, where the climate suits it well. That is also where we look first for our raw material, although the country of cultivation can vary. At the same time we keep a close eye on the possibility of finding growers closer to home. In the longer term we see potential for growing mung beans of the same high quality in Europe as well. Growing mung beans in Sweden, on the other hand, is difficult as things stand. The mung bean is a short-day plant, which means it responds to day length. The long summer days at our latitude make it challenging to create the right conditions for the crop. But a raw material grown far away does not automatically mean a large climate footprint. Our mung beans are shipped dry by sea, which gives a low climate footprint per kilo of raw material. In many cases it can therefore be more sustainable to grow a crop where it thrives naturally than to try to grow it in energy-hungry greenhouses or other systems that demand large amounts of energy. For us, sustainability is about seeing the whole picture, from how the raw material is grown to how it is transported and turned into really good food.

Why is the mung bean’s water footprint so low?

It has a short growing cycle, as little as 50 days, and copes with poor soil where other crops struggle. Less time in the field means fewer days of irrigation.

What does the mung bean do for the soil?

The mung bean fixes nitrogen from the air and so contributes to richer soil. That makes it a valuable crop in a rotation, because it can improve the conditions for the next crop and reduce the need for fertiliser.

More — The crop

Why mung bean?

The mung bean is at the heart of everything we make. It has been the base of our original recipe from the start and is, if you ask us, the secret behind the award-winning texture and taste of our products. That research also points to the mung bean as a promising protein crop only makes us more convinced of its potential to take a natural place in our kitchens.

6th of 42ranked among green protein crops by researchers at UC Berkeley
50 daysgrowing cycle, short enough to fit inside a crop rotation
0.02 kgof water per kilo of crop, the lowest in the comparison

31 %lower carbon emissions than soy
35 %lower than corn
59 %lower than wheat
81 %lower than rice

Water footprintkg of water per kg of crop, global average of surface and ground water

Mung bean: 0,02
Soy: 0,07
Corn: 0,08
Wheat: 0,34
Rice: 0,51

A small bean with great potential

Most protein crops need a whole season. The mung bean is done in as little as fifty days. That sounds like a detail, but it isn’t: a crop that finishes in fifty days fits between two other crops in a rotation, and a crop that fits into a rotation doesn’t compete for the land, it improves it.

The mung bean is a legume, and legumes fix nitrogen from the air in nodules on their roots. The next crop in the same field meets soil that is richer than it was before. The need for fertiliser goes down.

It also copes with poor soil. Fields too dry or too thin for wheat or corn will do for the mung bean.

Water and carbon — the mung bean’s environmental advantages

The figures in the tables above are based on published research. You will find the sources at the bottom of the page.

Compared with soy, corn, wheat and rice, the mung bean needs considerably less water. It uses roughly a quarter of the water soy and corn need, a seventeenth of what wheat needs and a twenty-fifth of rice. Its carbon emissions are lower than all four crops too.

That is one of the reasons the mung bean is attracting research interest. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have singled it out as one of the six most promising crops among 42 green protein crops studied.

The mung bean in its natural form

We let the mung bean be a mung bean. Instead of milling it into flour and building a new structure, we use it as the base of our products. The result is a natural texture with character, and recipes where every ingredient has a clear job to do.

That is our philosophy: to let the mung bean take centre stage and make really good food with clean ingredients and natural character, without additives.

Frequently asked questions

What is a mung bean?: The mung bean is a small green legume that has been grown in Asia for thousands of years. In Sweden many know it as the bean sprouts in the vegetable aisle. But the mung bean has far more to offer. Whole and cooked, it has a mild, nutty flavour and a fine, firm texture. It also has natural properties that let it hold food together without added binders.
Where is the mung bean grown?: The mung bean originates in Asia, where the climate suits it well. That is also where we look first for our raw material, although the country of cultivation can vary. At the same time we keep a close eye on the possibility of finding growers closer to home. In the longer term we see potential for growing mung beans of the same high quality in Europe as well. Growing mung beans in Sweden, on the other hand, is difficult as things stand. The mung bean is a short-day plant, which means it responds to day length. The long summer days at our latitude make it challenging to create the right conditions for the crop. But a raw material grown far away does not automatically mean a large climate footprint. Our mung beans are shipped dry by sea, which gives a low climate footprint per kilo of raw material. In many cases it can therefore be more sustainable to grow a crop where it thrives naturally than to try to grow it in energy-hungry greenhouses or other systems that demand large amounts of energy. For us, sustainability is about seeing the whole picture, from how the raw material is grown to how it is transported and turned into really good food.
Why is the mung bean’s water footprint so low?: It has a short growing cycle, as little as 50 days, and copes with poor soil where other crops struggle. Less time in the field means fewer days of irrigation.
What does the mung bean do for the soil?: The mung bean fixes nitrogen from the air and so contributes to richer soil. That makes it a valuable crop in a rotation, because it can improve the conditions for the next crop and reduce the need for fertiliser.

Sources

Craswell et al. (2007)
Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2011)
Zhang et al. (2017)
Castanheira & Freire (2013)
Clune (2016)

Updated 5 November 2026

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The content Nutrition We work with whole ingredients, high-quality protein, clean content and good fibre. The nutrition in our products keeps you full for longer and is gentle on the stomach. The responsibility Sustainability For us, sustainability goes without saying. With plant-based products and organic ingredients at the centre, we want to contribute to the shift towards a more plant-based diet. Our ambition is to make it easier, tastier and more inspiring to choose food that is good for people, animals and the planet alike. The origin Our story It begins in Orsa, a village in Dalarna, with a burger that gathers ingredients from different parts of the world. From Torbjörn’s idea to Caroline’s determination to take it out into the world.