Burger King, the second largest hamburger chain in the world, will roll out its plant-based Impossible Whopper to more than 7,000 of its restaurants across the United States.
The nationwide, coast-to-coast, initiative will start this Thursday, August 8, and carry on until the beginning of September, the company announced in a statement.
“We are really excited to be able to offer our new Impossible Whopper to our guests across the country at an unbeatable value for a limited time,” said Chris Finazzo, president of Burger King North America.
Just four months have passed since Burger King teamed up with California-based Impossible Foods to sell the Impossible Whopper, but until now the meatless patty (plus all the usual Whopper accompaniments) was available in just seven US markets.
Coupled with supply shortages, the limited number of outlets where the burger was sold even prompted some consumers to take to social media to try to find where to get one.
“Since we first launched our market tests in St Louis in April, and later in six other markets across the country, we’ve heard great feedback,” Finazzo said.
He noted that Burger King has been very encouraged by the results so far and that, if the national rollout proves successful, the Impossible Whopper could join the menu permanently.
A two-pronged promotional campaign will support the rollout, including free delivery on orders made via the DoorDash service as well as a “taste test” whereby customers can compare the Impossible Whopper with the original meat version for a combined price of $7.
Burger King’s initiative provides yet more evidence of a growing consumer trend towards meat-free alternatives to old favourites – a trend that is taking off globally.
Just last week, British bakery chain Greggs announced a 58% rise in first-half profits, which it attributed in part to the popularity of its Quorn-based vegan “sausage” roll.
And Dunkin’ is doing something similar in the US, having recently announced that it has teamed up with Beyond Meat to create a plant-based “Beyond Sausage Breakfast Sandwich”, which is supposed to have the same taste and texture as the original.
The nationwide, coast-to-coast, initiative will start this Thursday, August 8, and carry on until the beginning of September, the company announced in a statement.
“We are really excited to be able to offer our new Impossible Whopper to our guests across the country at an unbeatable value for a limited time,” said Chris Finazzo, president of Burger King North America.
Just four months have passed since Burger King teamed up with California-based Impossible Foods to sell the Impossible Whopper, but until now the meatless patty (plus all the usual Whopper accompaniments) was available in just seven US markets.
Coupled with supply shortages, the limited number of outlets where the burger was sold even prompted some consumers to take to social media to try to find where to get one.
“Since we first launched our market tests in St Louis in April, and later in six other markets across the country, we’ve heard great feedback,” Finazzo said.
He noted that Burger King has been very encouraged by the results so far and that, if the national rollout proves successful, the Impossible Whopper could join the menu permanently.
A two-pronged promotional campaign will support the rollout, including free delivery on orders made via the DoorDash service as well as a “taste test” whereby customers can compare the Impossible Whopper with the original meat version for a combined price of $7.
Burger King’s initiative provides yet more evidence of a growing consumer trend towards meat-free alternatives to old favourites – a trend that is taking off globally.
Just last week, British bakery chain Greggs announced a 58% rise in first-half profits, which it attributed in part to the popularity of its Quorn-based vegan “sausage” roll.
And Dunkin’ is doing something similar in the US, having recently announced that it has teamed up with Beyond Meat to create a plant-based “Beyond Sausage Breakfast Sandwich”, which is supposed to have the same taste and texture as the original.
Sourced from Burger King, Reuters; additional content by WARC staff
