K A S H R U T . C O M_©

Plant-based burger craze will plateau, but no expiration date in sight

January 27, 2020 from Restaurant Dive:

"Droves of major QSRs have snapped up deals with Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods to capitalize on the lucrative plant-based trend. But does faux meat have real financial staying power for restaurants?"

"Recently, it seems the trend's halo has lost some of its shine. "

"Just last week, Burger King lowered the price of its Impossible Whopper due to sliding sales. Franchisee Carrols Restaurant Group said at the ICR conference earlier this month that its stores now sell around 28 Impossible Whoppers per day, compared to its previous average of 32. The burger is now offered on the restaurant’s two-for-$6 menu "— significantly cheaper than its initial price of $5.59.

"A Burger King franchisee from Little Rock, Arkansas told Bloomberg that his stores are selling fewer than 20 Impossible Whoppers per day compared to 30 per day when it first launched, and that he may be selling the product at a loss. "

" Restaurants that view plant-based burgers as a key to unlocking powerful new revenue streams should be wary. Only around 280 million veggie burgers are sold in the U.S. each year, compared to nearly 8 billion beef burgers."

"Plant-based meat does meet growing consumer demand for vegetarian fare, however, which they view as healthier than meat, Portalatin said. "

Nearly a quarter of Americans are eating less meat

January 28, 2020 from Restaurant Dive:

"According to a September 2019 Gallup poll, 23% of Americans reported that they ate less meat in the past year than they had previously. However, 72% said they are eating the same amount of meat."

"When asked how often they eat meat, 67% of consumers said “frequently,” 23% said “occasionally,” and 7% said “rarely.” Only 3% said they “never” eat meat. The results of the poll showed that women are about twice as likely as men to have cut down on meat consumption. Those from the Midwest are less likely to be reducing their meat consumption compared with adults from other parts of the country."

"For those Americans who reported cutting back on meat or not eating it at all, nine in 10 said that health concerns were a major (70%) or minor (20%) reason. After health, environmental concerns are the next most prominent factor leading to reduced meat consumption. In fact, 49% said concerns about the environment were a major reason for reducing their meat consumption, and 21% said they were a minor reason. Some other top concerns for wanting to reduce their meat consumption were food safety (43% major, 22% minor reason) and animal welfare (41% major, 24% minor reason)."

"Most Americans (77%) who are cutting back their consumption of meat are doing so by eating smaller portions. Men (71%) are substituting vegetables or other ingredients for some of the meat in recipes, and 69% are eliminating meat from some meals. And 36% of Americans are eating meat replacements such as plant-based burgers or sausages."