Taco Bell considers Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods plant-based menu items
The fake meat is slated to hit menus next year
Taco Bell is beefing up its meatless menu.
The first Taco Bell Restaurant opened in 1962 in Downey, California. Taco Bell now serves more than 2 billion consumers each year in more than 5,800 restaurants in the U.S and can be found in many countries worldwide.
The Irvine, California-based chain will add vegan meat options to its menu next year, the company’s CEO Mark King told Bloomberg. The decision to introduce fake meat to menus is a new strategy for the company, which has previously focused on promoting its existing vegetarian menu items.
IMPOSSIBLE FOODS DEBUTS PLANT-BASED PORK
“We definitely see that plant-based protein has a place on the menu,” King, who took over as CEO last August, told Bloomberg.
King has reportedly already met with alternative meat companies Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat since taking on the new role at Taco Bell.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BYND | BEYOND MEAT INC. | 4.89 | -0.12 | -2.40% |
| YUM | YUM! BRANDS INC. | 135.26 | +1.04 | +0.78% |
| QSR | RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. | 69.09 | -0.69 | -0.99% |
The move comes as a number of chains cater to consumer demand for alternative proteins. Last year, Del Taco, a California-based Tex-Mex chain, sold two million of its meatless tacos made with the plant-based substitute from Beyond Meat just two months after the launch. The partnership was so successful, the chain decided to roll out meatless burritos at all of its 580 locations nationwide for $1 more than its beef burrito.
And Burger King's national expansion with Beyond Meat on breakfast and lunch menus has also paved the way for more restaurants to jump on the bandwagon.