Which Costs More? Plant-Based Burgers or Meat? You’d Be Surprised!

Bring on the price wars: In a move intended to make vegan meat alternatives cheaper and more enticing, Plant Power Fast Food is taking on America’s major fast-food chains by lowering its prices. Most fast food corporations including Burger King and McDonald’s retain their hold on the American wallet by providing cheaper options than vegan alternatives. Now, Plant Power is working to reduce its prices and make inroads as it begins a major national expansion. By teaming up with Alpha Foods, Plant Power, based in San Diego, just announced a new affordable pea-protein burger that will significantly reduce its price.

The California fast-food burger chain is attempting to appeal to customers that desire cheap meal options when visiting fast-food restaurants. While 55 percent of consumers feel motivated by sustainability, inflation rates have spiked to the highest point since 1981 (8.6 percent), causing more Americans to search out cheaper food options. Plant Power aims to reconcile the price gap between conventional and plant-based meat.

“One of the core criticisms of plant-based food is that it is expensive, our goal is to remove that barrier and make plant-based fast food an easy choice,” Plant Power co-founder and COO Zach Vouga said.“We have spent nearly two years collaborating with Alpha Foods’ R&D to painstakingly perfect the new juicy, smoky, and wildly delicious burger patty and we are thrilled with the results."

Plant Power’s proprietary pea protein burger will be available in hamburger and cheeseburger variations for $4.95 and $5.95, respectively. The affordable menu will now be priced within $1 to $2 of major fast-food chains’ conventional beef burgers. More notably, Plant Power’s vegan burger will be cheaper than the vegan or vegetarian burgers offered by the major chains. Currently, Burger King’s Impossible Whopper is priced at $7.99, making Plant Power a cheaper option for vegan customers.

“The launch of these new hamburgers and cheeseburgers at $4.95 and $5.95 respectively is a tremendous step towards achieving this goal,” co-founder and CEO Jeffrey Harris said. “These new price points allow us to expand our demographic and to share the Plant Power experience with a much larger customer base than before.  And more people eating delicious, sustainable, plant-based food goes to the very core of our mission”.

Currently, Plant Power operates 11 locations in the West Coast area and a food truck. Last October, the chain opened its 10th location in Las Vegas, marking the first time the company launched a storefront outside of California. The company recently partnered with Scale X 3 Management to accelerate its national expansion. The company intends to have 15 restaurants by the beginning of 2023.

Vegan Meat is Reaching Price Parity

Vegan meat is currently on track to reach price parity with conventional beef by 2023, according to a report released this February. This prediction is also occurring much faster as major meat companies continue to price gouge as inflation rates spike. The price gap is closing, at $5.57 for a pound of beef and   $7.57 for a pound of Impossible Meat. Shoppers may soon see vegan meat fall below the price of beef.

Despite the price gap for vegan meat, shoppers typically save 30 percent on food when switching to a plant-based diet. American shoppers feel discouraged by the myth that plant-based or healthy eating will cost them more money. But shopping for plant-based foods will actually save people approximately $1,260 on groceries per year and in some instances, far more.

Plant-Based Fast-Food on the Rise

Plant Power Fast Food is paving the way for other vegan fast-food restaurants to storm the national stage. Plant-based meat is appearing on restaurants' menus 1,320 percent more than before the pandemic, and vegan fast food is helping increase that number. The vegan fast food market is currently expected to reach $40 billion by 2028.

This week, another California-based vegan burger company, Nomoo, just announced that it plans to expand nationwide. Partnering with Fansmart, the vegan fast-food restaurant intends to bring its plant-based menus to customers across the United States. Fansmart is known for taking local one-off restaurants into large-scale national chains. Similar to Plant Power, the soon-to-be chain will help bring down the price of vegan meat to make plant-based eating more accessible for all consumers.