Want Meat With That? Burger King Makes Plant-Based Patties the Standard
Burger King's menu is officially plant-based. Or at least it was for one day as a test, in Austria. The fast food giant tried a one-time campaign called “Meat Optional,” requiring customers to have to specifically request the meat-based Whopper patties instead of the plant-based variation when they ordered. The campaign set out to reverse the accepted custom that meat patties are standard and instead made the plant-based burger the regular one on the menu.
Burger King recorded the reactions of customers in a short film that will accompany the campaign. The major fast food company has led the industry into a new plant-based era that frequently positions plant-based options at the forefront of their business. Now, Austrian customers will be faced with the question, “Do you want regular or meat-based?”
“With this question, we want to stimulate the social debate and show that our plant-based alternatives have a confusing taste,” Chief Marketing Officer of the TQSR Group (BK's Austrian master franchisee) Jan-Christoph Küster said in a statement.
“Meat is one option, but it is not the only one. We leave it to our guests to decide what is normal for them. Everyone should not be required to have the same taste.”
The video reveals that most customers responded positively to the question. Burger King’s newest campaign closely follows its statement claiming that one in three of its burgers sold in Belgium is vegetarian. The company is testing customer reactions to gauge the success of a permanently plant-based menu, especially as several European branches shift further into the plant-based sector. Burger King UK has even claimed that its menu will be 50 percent plant-based by 2030.
“At Burger King, we are making meatless indulgence a permanent fixture on our menu, because meat no longer comes naturally to everyone,” Küster. “With the provocative question ‘Normal or meat?’ we want to show that we take our customers and their needs seriously. Because from now on, we also serve almost our entire range [as plant-based].”
Burger King is Going Plant-Based Worldwide
Burger King is leading the fast-food industry into new plant-based frontiers. Ever since debuting the Impossible Whopper in 2019, the international fast-food corporation has expanded its plant-based development worldwide, especially within Europe. Before the Austrian campaign, Burger King introduces plant-based options to locations in France, Germany, Belgium, and more with the help of The Vegetarian Butcher.
This June, the beloved burger chain opened two plant-based concepts in Switzerland, serving fully plant-based menus in Basel and Geneva. For approximately one week, the two plant-based pop-ups served 14 vegan menu items including the Long Vegetal, Veggie Whopper, Veggie Nuggets, and several Cajun-style offerings.
Among the major fast-food brands, Burger King is the sole company to open fully vegan locations or standardize plant-based meat. The chain also opened a 100 percent vegetarian location in Spain called Vurger King and hosted one month-long vegan pop-up in London this March.
Vegan Fast Food in the United States
Burger King’s dedication to plant-based development is helping the entire industry shift towards more sustainable options. The entire vegan fast-food market is expected to reach $40 billion by 2028. Several fast-food brands have launched plant-based trials or permanent menu items including McDonald’s McPlant or Panda Express’ Beyond The Original Orange Chicken.
With major fast-food chains paving the path for plant-based alternatives, the United States has experienced a spike in regional vegan chains. California-based fast food brands Plant Power Fast Food and Noomo have partnered with franchising agencies to make their national debuts. In the Northeast, Valeries will open the tri-state areas' first exclusively vegan drive-thru. In no time, customers will have access to affordable, tasty vegan options – and eventually, these may be the standard.
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