Fast-Food Restaurants Seek to Put Plant-based Meats on the Menu
Many fast-food restaurants in the U.S. will soon offer plant-based foods, a trend that emerged in recent years as retailers tested whether there was a high enough demand from American consumers for plant-based menu options.
On Monday, representatives from Kentucky Fried Chicken announced they will add faux-chicken nuggets to the menu in partnership with Beyond Meat.
The decision comes after two years of KFC testing consumer demand. In a 2019 test run in Atlanta, Georgia, the product sold out in five hours. In 2020, the product was tested in 70 locations in North Carolina, Tennessee and other surrounding states.
In a press release from KFC and Beyond Meat, the companies note that while the products are meatless, they are not prepared in a vegan or vegetarian manner, as they are prepared on grills with other meat.
Other fast-food restaurants, like Chipotle Mexican Grill and McDonald’s, are also testing plant-based products in particular restaurants.
Chipotle created a plant-based chorizo that is now offered in lifestyle bowls that were tested in August 2021 in Denver, Colorado, and Indianapolis, Indiana, and will begin to offer the product sometime this year in all locations.
In November, McDonald’s also released the McPlant, created with Beyond Meat, to eight testing locations in California, and is seeking to expand the plant-based option on menus globally.
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