Fast food the breeding ground for plant-based-meat revolution
The same week I spent searching in vain for a Popeyes in Houston that had the fabled fried chicken sandwiches that caused American foodies to lose their minds, a more interesting fried chicken story was taking place.
Except this chicken had no chicken in it.
On Aug. 27, Kentucky Fried Chicken introduced a plant-based “chicken” that made its debut in a limited test in a single KFC store in Atlanta. There was a two-hour line that wrapped around the building for what KFC called a “Kentucky Fried Miracle.” It sold out in four hours.
KFC is now evaluating “a broader test or potential national roll out” for its Beyond Fried Chicken, a partnership with Beyond Meat, an innovator in building “meat” directly from plants.
So, what is the takeaway from a one-day test when consumers went cuckoo for birdless chicken? For quick-service restaurants, the message is Americans are not just accepting of meat alternatives, they’re actually hungry for a sandwich that doesn’t come from a cow, chicken or pig. We know this because KFC is only the latest fast-food chain to buy into meatless alternatives to burgers, wings, nuggets and even tacos within our casual-food landscape.
In early August, Burger King announced that the meatless Impossible Whopper would be available for a limited time at more than 7,000 locations. That follows Carl’s Jr., which in January announced the rollout of the Beyond Famous Star, a version of its Famous Star burger made with a vegan patty from Beyond Meat. Customers can now find plantbased sliders at White Castle locations nationwide. Dunkin’ Donuts is experimenting with a sausage breakfast sandwich featuring a patty made with 100 percent plant-based ingredients (currently only in New York).
Though the mainstreaming of meat alternatives has significant environmental, political and social consequences, nobody is predicting the death of the all-American burger.
At least not yet. There were 6.4 billion beef burgers ordered in American quick-service restaurants in the past year. During that same time, there were 228 million servings of plant-based burgers ordered, a 10 percent increase from the previous year. Though vegetarians and vegans are contributing to growth in the meatless realm of fast food, they are only a small fraction. According to research marketers NPD Group, 18 percent of American adults are trying to get more plant-based foods into their diets.
“The popularity of plant-based foods is being fueled by consumers’ want to get more protein in their diets (60 percent of U.S. adults want more protein in their diets), concerns for animal welfare and how meat producers are brought to market, sustainability, and what they perceive to be healthier nutrition,” NPD stated. “Plant-based burgers allow consumers to substitute without sacrifice.”
For a baby boomer such as myself, the notion of a meatless burger at an everyday drive-thru restaurant is a radical idea. And yet here we are in 2019, when U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods have grown 11 percent in the past year, bringing the total plantbased market value to $4.5 billion, according to the Plant Based Food Association. Since April 2017, total plant-based-food sales have increased 31 percent, the association reported.
And it’s not just on the lower end of restaurant dining that the shift to meatless alternatives is taking place. Del Frisco’s Grille, a fine-dining restaurant where bloody steaks rule, recently added a cauliflower “steak frites” to its menu in a move to please guests looking for meat substitutes.
The fast-food realm, however, is a more visible proving ground for this shift. Del Taco announced in April that it would become the first national Mexican fast-food chain to offer plant-based meat across all 580 locations with two meatless tacos.
For Texans, the notion of meatless tacos and fajitas might be a hard burrito to swallow. But get used to it. Qdoba Mexican Grill announced in April that it was adding plant-based proteins from Impossible Foods to its 730 locations nationwide. And last month San Antonio-based Taco Cabana announced a partnership with Beyond Meat to offer customers plant-based-meat tacos and -meat bowls.
At the same time, the company also announced the reintroduction of a new and improved carne asada taco — a real beef taco. Taco Cabana appears to grasp what other national fast-food chains are coming to realize: Traditional meat and the growing nonmeats will have to live side by side.