Cold beetroot soup in a way you’ve never tasted before – in a sandwich

Cold beetroot soup in Lithuania is more than just a summer dish. This soup has become a cultural symbol of the country, a source of inspiration for art and even fashion, and it continues to spark culinary experiments and improvisations. Perhaps the newest way to experience the taste of pink soup is truly unexpected: Mantinga, the largest producer of bread, snacks and frozen products in the Baltic States, has “transferred” cold beetroot soup into a sandwich.

Mantinga employees have long observed that the demand for sandwiches increases significantly during the warm season.

“From May to November, compared to other months of the year, the quantity of sandwiches sold jumps by nearly a third on average – not only in Lithuania but also in other countries to which we export our products. It’s during this period that consumers much more often seek quick, convenient, and travel-friendly food solutions,” says Mantinga’s Head of New Product Development, Ramunė Puzinienė, adding that most sandwiches during the warmer season are purchased in major retail chains and gas stations.

According to her, the idea for the new product – a cold beetroot soup-style sandwich – was born from the combination of several aspects: the growing obsession with the iconic pink soup, the creative challenge to offer consumers an unexpected experience of cold beetroot soup, and the fact that the demand for sandwiches spikes during summer.

“From the very beginning, we knew we didn’t want to blindly copy the well-known flavor – we wanted to interpret it in our own way, creating something that would be both easily recognizable and unexpectedly unique. During the creative process, we tested countless ingredient ratios and tasted many variations until we finally created exactly what we aimed for – a sandwich not only for tourists seeking a taste of Lithuania, but also for locals who crave a new flavor experience that still feels familiar and close,” explains R. Puzinienė.

The sauce inspired by the dragon from Shrek

This limited-edition cold beetroot soup-style sandwich – likely the only one of its kind on the market – contains little sugar and about 25 grams of protein, roughly a third of the recommended daily intake. It’s made with a filling inspired by cold beetroot soup: fresh cucumbers, a salad mix, green onions, fried chicken for extra satiety and an unexpected twist, and a bright pink Dragon Mayo sauce.

Karolis Vaitkus, the technologist at Mantinga who created the special sauce for this sandwich, recalls that in search of the subtle sourness and refreshing sweetness characteristic of cold beetroot soup, he first simply mixed beets with mayonnaise.

“However, the result wasn’t what I had envisioned – the sauce was missing something. Around that creative period, one evening I was watching an episode of the animated film Shrek with my kids. When I saw Donkey’s wife, the dragon – bright and pink like cold beetroot soup – I had the idea to mix dragon fruit with the eggs and beets, without which this soup is unimaginable. And that was exactly what I had been searching for: something close to the mild sourness and freshness of the soup, yet also unexpected,” shares Vaitkus about the creative process.

In the near future, the cold beetroot soup-style sandwich will be available in some large and smaller retail chains and gas stations.