In 2019, Burger King launched its first plant-based Whopper in the US. Now, the plant-based movement is in the Philippines. The fast food chain’s plant-based burger was made through its partnership with Australian company V2Food. The patties are made of soy proteins that mimic the flavor of beef.
“What we are offering our customers is an option. Filipinos are such huge meat-eaters, and the insight for this local rollout is to provide them with an affordable alternative to reduce meat intake with an equally satisfying product,” says Allan Tan, marketing director of Burger King Philippines.
Meanwhile, McDonald’s similarly partnered with Beyond Meat, a company that produces plant-based meat, to test out its new vegetarian burger McPlant in Canada. The chain is also looking into plant-based substitutes for its chicken products, adding that the market for chicken is growing faster than that of beef.
Other companies have also pivoted to meat alternatives. Food tech company OmniFoods, the same label behind plant-based pork alternative OmniPork, launched the world’s first vegan luncheon meat. Indian start-up EVO Foods even created vegan eggs. Meanwhile, the introduction of plant-based seafood innovations such as vegan canned tuna, fishless fish steaks and plant-based crabcakes are potential solutions to the threat of overfishing.
What’s next in the food industry’s plant-based initiatives?
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