Carl’s Jr. Is the Latest Fast-Casual Company to Board the Plant-Protein Train

Now that Burger King conquered the impossible with its Impossible Whopper, a flame-grilled patty made from plants, the time has come for other fast-casual brands to follow suit. 

According to Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN), Carl’s Jr. recently launched its second menu item utilizing Beyond Meat’s meat-alternative expertise. The Beyond BBQ Cheeseburger is now available at most of Carl’s Jr.’s approximately 1,100 locations. The newly-launched cheeseburger follows Carl’s first foray into the plant-based world with the Beyond Famous Star Burger launched in December 2018. 

The second burger was added due to customer and franchisee demand, said Patty Trevina, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Carl’s Jr., to NRN. “Sales of the Beyond Famous Star Burger have definitely continued to deliver above our expectations even after the introduction of Burger King’s Impossible Burger,” said Trevina. 

The Beyond BBQ Cheeseburger is a meatless version of the chain’s Western Bacon Cheeseburger (without the bacon) and includes onion rings, American cheese and barbecue sauce. 

However, for you flexitarian customers, have no qualms—Trevino said these Beyond Burgers are meant to be fairly interchangeable and if you want bacon on your plant-based burger, GO FOR IT!

Beyond Meat is now well beyond merely dipping its toes in the restaurant industry and has locked in a multitude of deals. For example, Oath Pizza, a 50-unit chain based in Boston, has recently added meatballs made with Beyond Meat as a pizza topping, according to NRN. 

Even McDonald’s is testing the plant-based waters with its new Beyond Meat ‘P.L.T.’ or plant, lettuce and tomato. 

All this talk of plant-based options may just turn this meat-eating writer into a plant-eating one.