Could Long John Silver’s plant-based fish menu be a game changer?

Quick service restaurants have gone beyond and even cooked up the impossible, but Long John Silver’s plant-based fish menu is a new option on the menu. While this new offering is available for a limited time, the question becomes, what other restaurants will have some plant-based fish swim onto their tables?

While plant-based food options continue to expand, fish options aren’t often on the table. Whether it is a textural issue, a flavor issue or something else, it is the one area that seems to have a deep hole.

With the new Long John Silver’s plant-based fish menu, the quick service restaurant is changing the conversation. Why should plant-based food offerings be limited to beef and chicken alternatives? Shouldn’t there be other fish in that sea?

According to Christopher Caudill, Vice President, Marketing of Long John Silver’s, the menu addition is more appeals to a “wider customer base who want to experience tasty seafood products in a more sustainable way.” Given that other quick service restaurants do not offer this type of plant-based food offering, the reality is that it could start another food trend. Is plant-based fish the new chicken sandwich wars?

Is there a market for plant-based fish beyond the Long John Silver’s menu launch?

As Christine Mei, CEO of Gathered Foods, makers of Good Catch. “With the plant-based seafood sector expected to grow twelve-fold in the next ten years to $1.3 billion, there’s room for dramatic growth. We’re proud to fuel the momentum by delivering the delicious taste, unmistakable texture, and comparable protein that consumers crave.”

Looking at that statement, the potential for changes to other quick service restaurants seem great. Almost every brand has a fish sandwich on the menu, at least at some point during the year.

This new launch features two menu items at Long John Silver’s. They are Plant-Based Breaded Fish-Free Fillet and Plant-Based Breaded Crab-Free Cake. These two menu items will be available while supplies last. It will be interesting to see the response from guests.

Plant-based food is no longer a trend, it is a permanent part of the food segment. These options are not just for a specific lifestyle. They are for everyone.

As more and more brands, not just consumers, embrace these offerings, it seems that people will see even more options become available. When more choices become available, consumers will start choosing based on flavor preference, not just availability.

For now, the Long John Silver’s plant-based menu is available while supplies last at participating restaurant locations.

What do you think of this new food option? Are you excited for more plant-based food choices at quick service restaurants?