By Hilary Russ
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Yum Brands Inc’s KFC restaurants will start selling plant-based fried “chicken” from Beyond Meat Inc across the United States on Jan. 10 for a limited time, KFC said on Tuesday.
Beyond shares rose more than seven percent in after-market trading. KFC, Yum’s biggest brand, had nearly 4,000 restaurants in the United States at the end of 2020, according to a regulatory filing.
The company started testing Beyond’s plant-based chicken in August 2019 in Atlanta and expanded to more areas the following year.
In February 2021, Yum and Beyond announced a global partnership to create plant-based menu items for Yum’s KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut over “the next several years.”
Major fast food chains have been vying for partnerships with faux meat makers as they add vegan and vegetarian menu options. Beyond rival Impossible Foods Inc is working with Burger King, a unit of Restaurant Brands International Inc.
Prices for the Beyond Fried Chicken at KFC will start at $6.99 in most places but will vary by location.
(Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Richard Pullin and Karishma Singh)
