KFC restaurants nationwide will add Beyond Meat’s plant-based chicken to its menus, starting next Monday.
The launch comes after years of testing from fast food chain and Beyond Meat to create a meat substitute that mimicked the taste and texture of whole muscle chicken.
The two companies first tested plant-based chicken at an Atlanta restaurant in August 2019 — and sold out their limited supply in less than five hours.
The popular fried chicken chain is counting on customers making healthier choices to fulfill typical New Year’s resolutions. “This is really about where the customer is going; they want to eat more plant-based proteins,” said Kevin Hochman, U.S. president of KFC. “It’s January, so it’s a time of New Year’s resolutions and wanting to do something different in your diet.”
More Americans are embracing a so-called flexitarian diet in which consumers cut down on their meat consumption for health and environmental reasons. That has driven the growing popularity of plant-based substitutes.
“From a supply perspective, we feel really good about it, and it’s something we have experience with in initial trials,” said Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown.
