Even Fast Food Chains Are Going Plant-Based

KFC in the U.K. has committed to cut its calorie content by 20% over the next seven years, and one of the ways it's working toward this goal is by developing a vegetarian version of its iconic fried chicken.  

The new menu offering will still use the secret blend of 11 herbs and spices that made the Colonel famous, and will debut sometime in 2019. 

Then there is White Castle, which has tested and launched the Impossible Burger in its restaurants nationwide.

And one of our favorites, Beyond Meat, has just announced that it would double its production to sate the growing hunger for its plant-based burgers. According to Plant Based News, Beyond Burgers are outselling beef burgers in some stores in California, and Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown has said that the company is ahead of its sales targets. 

All of which means that the demand for meatlike vegan burgers is there and is growing. The big questions are: Why, and will it continue?

There are two major factors in play. First, the new plant-based companies are developing products to have their own identity; they are not trying to copy the taste and texture of animal-based meats. This is a good move. Stand on your own and you will succeed. Of course, I still think the “blood bleeding” trait of Impossible Foods is a mistake and will come to haunt them.

The second is that certainly more people want alternatives and are concerned about the impact of meat on the environment. However, there are many questions and controversies surrounding just how much the entire impact of animal protein really is. Stay tuned.