KFC and Beyond Meat launch a plant based chicken option

KFC wants to be finger licking good for everyone. In collaboration with Beyond Meat, the restaurant chain is testing a plant based chicken option.

Craving KFC but prefer to follow a plant based lifestyle? Now, a plant based chicken option, a Kentucky Fried Miracle,  from Beyond Meat is being tested. Could this test become the next big chicken trend?

It seems that quick service chicken is a hot food topic. From everyone casting their vote on the best Southern style chicken sandwich to what chicken wings you will serve at your tailgate, it seems that chicken is definitely having a moment.

Additionally, plant based alternatives are growing every day. From the national launch of the Impossible Whopper to grocery stores stocking various options, vegetarian foods are part of everyone’s lifestyle choices.

Today, KFC announced that it will test market a plant based chicken option in partnership with Beyond Meat. This test market will only be available “as part of an exclusive, one restaurant test on August 27 at the Cobb Parkway restaurant near SunTrust Park in Atlanta (2637 Cobb Pkwy South East, Smyrna, Ga.).” This location was chosen because the area offers consumers with a variety of diet variations.

This test menu item will be available in two forms, chicken nuggets and boneless wings. The nuggets will be served with your choice of dipping sauce. The boneless wings will have three sauce options, “Nashville Hot, Buffalo or Honey BBQ.”

A couple of items are interesting about this launch. First, plant based chicken is not an easy food to get right. There is a texture component in addition to the flavor. If Beyond Meat and KFC can get this combination correct, it will definitely be a game changer in the industry.

Additionally, it will be interesting to see if this product will be exclusive to KFC. If Beyond Meat uses the Colonel’s original herbs and spices, the potential launch makes KFC a huge vegetarian restaurant. No other restaurant would have plant based chicken. It would bring in a very large, new clientele.

As more and more consumers are looking for plant based alternatives, these type of product launches will become more common. While excitement might be high over the test run, it will probably take a significant amount of time to see the product launch everywhere. The lead-up to fully stock all franchises definitely cannot happen overnight.

It will be interesting to see the feedback from this test. From texture to taste to even sauce choices, there are many aspects to this test that will evolve over time. It won’t be the last time KFC tries this type of taste test. There will definitely be more to come.

What do you think of this KFC and Beyond Meat plant based chicken option? Would you want to try it?