For alternative meat manufacturer Beyond Meat, fast food chains giveth and taketh away
Beyond Meat, the publicly traded producer of plant-based protein replacements for meat, is currently giving other companies in the alternative meat space an education in just how finicky appealing to consumer tastes can be.
On the same day that the Canadian Tim Horton’s restaurant chain is dropping Beyond Meat products from its menus, the company and fried chicken chain KFC announced the expansion of a pilot run of the company’s chicken replacement products at new stores in Nashville, Tenn., Charlotte, N.C., and across Kentucky, according to multiple reports.
KFC had originally launched a one-day test to gauge consumer demand at a location in Atlanta last August.
On Wednesday, Beyond Meat said that 66 restaurants will receive chicken products and chief executive Ethan Brown told Yahoo Finance that he expects his company to have enough capacity to potentially meet demand from all of KFC’s locations.
“We do everything we can to keep the Colonel proud. I think the Colonel would be very proud on what we are doing here with Beyond fried chicken,” KFC U.S. CMO Andrea Zahumensky told Yahoo Finance.
Despite the good news, investors would be wise to not count their chickens before they hatch (or are formed into chicken-like approximations from pea protein and a mix of other ingredients).
The restaurant chain Tim Hortons is actually pulling Beyond Meat from its stores at the same time as sales are slowing for Burger King’s Impossible Whopper from Beyond Meat rival Impossible Foods.
Taken together, the reports may point to a slowdown in consumer interest for meat replacements at fast food chains.
Still, even as the Tim Hortons door closes, other doors are opening at dining establishments willing to welcome the Beyond Burger onto broader menus. On Monday, Denny’s became the latest chain to offer a Beyond Meat burger at all of its locations.
With the latest partnership, the company seems to be pulling away from its other well-capitalized rival Impossible Foods, despite the decision to scrap the company’s menu items
Beyond Meat’s ability to manufacture at scale seems to have been one of the deciding factors in the company’s partnership with McDonald’s, something that Impossible Foods chief executive, Pat Brown, referenced in an interview with Reuters earlier this month.
Denny’s launched its Beyond Burger in restaurants across Los Angeles last year and will now take the menu item to more than 1,700 locations across the U.S.
Beyond Meat, the publicly traded producer of plant-based protein replacements for meat, is currently giving other companies in the alternative meat space an education in just how finicky appealing to consumer tastes can be. On the same day that the Canadian Tim Horton’s restaurant chain is dropping Beyond Meat products…
Recent Posts
- Record Store Day 2024 is this weekend, and Discogs is giving you a second chance to snag limited vinyl pressings
- DJI’s first power stations can fast charge its drone batteries
- The Meta Quest 2 has received another permanent price drop to just $199
- The 6 best Mint alternatives to replace the budgeting app that shut down
- The importance of the Vulnerability Operations Centre for cybersecurity
Archives
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- December 2011