The plant-based kabanos costs more than the pork one from the same brand

On the same shelf, from the same producer, pork kabanos sausages sit next to their plant-based version. The plant one is dearer.

• Tarczyński plant-based kabanos original, 90 g: 6.99 zł, that's 77.67 zł per kilo
• Tarczyński Exclusive pork kabanos, 105 g: 6.79 zł, that's 64.67 zł per kilo

Per kilo that's a 20 percent gap. At the till the plant pack costs 20 groszy more while weighing 15 grams less.

The label is more interesting than the price. In the pork kabanos the first ingredient is pork, then starch, pork fat, salt and spices. The producer declares 24 grams of protein per 100 grams.

In the plant version the first ingredient is dried onion, 22 percent. Then: soy protein 14 percent, rapeseed oil, sunflower seeds 9 percent, beetroot 9 percent, coconut fat, carrot 4 percent, parsley root 4 percent, salt, flavourings including smoke flavouring, shea fat, sugar and spices.

The shop's product page carries no nutrition table for the plant version, so we're not quoting its protein. We'd rather leave a number out than guess at it.

What follows from this

We're not judging why anyone reaches for plant-based food. It might be diet, ecology or simply taste, and each of those is reason enough. We count the price and read the label, because that's our job.

What's worth knowing is that "plant-based" is not a synonym for "cheaper". Plant substitutes for cold cuts, cheese or milk are a separate and usually pricier category, not a budget version of the original. If saving money is the main reason, cheaper plant protein sits two aisles away: a kilo of red lentils costs 9.98 zł, and chickpeas from a tin work out at 16.23 zł per kilo drained.

And to be straight all the way: both of these are processed snacks. Neither becomes healthy because there's a leaf on the wrapper or a claim about high protein.

The rule is short: with any "plant-based version" of something, check two things, the price per kilo rather than per pack, and the first ingredient on the label. Both take ten seconds.

Snugmeal does this counting for you, on real prices and real ingredient lists from Polish shops.

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Data: prices, pack sizes and ingredient lists read live from product pages on zakupy.biedronka.pl on 14 August 2026. The pork kabanos protein comes from the nutrition table on its product page. Lentil and chickpea prices from our database, verified this week. Our own calculations.