Subway is the latest restaurant to join the Beyond Meat craze
The craze of plant-based alternatives is alive and well as Subway announced Wednesday that it too will be joining the growing trend with its new Beyond Meatball Marinara sub.
Subway said in a statement that fans have always known that they can "customize their favorite sub to fit any lifestyle." They plan to up to stay true to this by keeping up with the meatless trend and adding new options to the menu. The food chain will be pairing up with Beyond Meat to unveil the new plant-based protein in 685 participating restaurants across Canada and the U.S.
"Subway appeals to so many fans because we truly offer something for everyone. Our guests want to feel good about what they eat and they also want to indulge in new flavors,” Len Van Popering, Subway’s Chief Brand and Innovation Officer, said in a statement.
The restaurant's new meatless option takes inspiration from its classic meatball sub it has been offering for several years. The new sub's "plant-based twist" is designed to provide the same "mouthwatering" experience as the original meatball sub, but in a way that can give non-meat-eaters a similar experience.
“With our new plant-based Beyond Meatball™ Marinara sub, we are giving them the best of both worlds," Van Popering added. "And, we are particularly excited about debuting a co-developed product that can't be found anywhere else: the Beyond Meatball™ made just for Subway."
The two companies have each been expanding quite a bit lately.
In the past month, Subway announced exclusive partnerships to offer Halo-Top hand-spun milkshakes and fresh baked King's Hawaiian bread. Their new partnership with Beyond Meat could mark just the beginning of their plant-based offerings. Subway said the two teams are "dedicated" to exploring plant-based options, starting with the new meatless meatball.
Beyond Meat has also rapidly begun partnering up with several restaurant chains. The alternative-meat brand also has partnerships with Tim Hortons, Dunkin, Del Taco, TGI Fridays, Carl’s Jr., and a few others.
Subway cited a study by the NPD Group saying that nearly 70 percent of meat-eaters substitute for non-meat protein at least once a week. The chain proudly announced that Subway fans now have more than 2 billion options at stores thanks to the new sandwich.
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“We're excited to partner with Subway and are grateful that the menu team through to senior management has entrusted us as their innovation partner to deliver delicious plant-based proteins to their guests," Ethan Brown, CEO of Beyond Meat, said in the statement. "We look forward to a long-term partnership with Subway as we together serve and delight existing and new fans of this iconic chain."