On April 1, Burger King, one of the largest fast-food chains in the world, debuted the Impossible Whopper. Featuring a meatless patty from Impossible Foods, the new menu offering is a plant-based take on Burger King’s most popular burger, launched for testing at 59 locations in the St. Louis area.
The test has been an incredible success. A new report from inMarket inSights shows that the Impossible Whopper increased foot traffic at these locations by an average of almost 17 percent the first month it was released! The report also found that foot traffic in U.S. Burger King stores outside St. Louis fell by an average of nearly 2 percent. In a statement, Burger King spokesperson Dori Robau Alvarez said:
The Impossible Whopper is performing very well in our test markets, and it continues to drive new traffic to our restaurants.
Nielsen reported that sales of plant-based products grew by over 17 percent in 2018, which helps explain the surge in demand for vegan options in large restaurant chains. Thanks to high-profile investors like Bill Gates and Serena Williams, Impossible Foods has raised more than $750 million. In fact, its latest funding round raised an impressive $300 million.
The company shows no sign of slowing down, recently partnering with Qdoba, a fast-casual chain known for its Mexican-inspired menu, to bring vegan ground meat to all locations. Impossible Foods has also announced a partnership with Little Caesars to create a plant-based sausage topping and has tested its vegan meat at Moe’s Southwest Grill locations in Manhattan.
If you do not live near a Burger King location currently serving the new burger, don’t worry! The fast-food chain plans on offering the Impossible Whopper nationwide by the end of the year.
With plant-based dishes popping up on menus far and wide, there’s truly never been a better time to eat more vegan meals. You can get delicious recipes and easy meal ideas by ordering a FREE Vegetarian Starter Guide today.