The American fast-food giant, Burger King, launched Tuesday in Europe a meatless hamburger that he has already tested in the United States and Sweden, hoping to conquer a significant share of this market boom.
The group adds this vegetarian version of its "Whopper" to its menu in 25 countries and 2,500 restaurants, making it one of the "biggest launches in the history of the brand," said David Shear, president of the Europe region for Burger King. In the UK, the new meatless sandwich will be launched a little later, around the beginning of the year, according to the group.
"There is growth potential" for vegetarian products
The chain says it is becoming the largest fast food chain offering a veggie burger in Europe. Burger King, best known for bleeding burgers, "thinks there is growth potential" for vegetarian products in his brand, says David Shear.
According to him, the veggie burger in the United States has even helped sales of meat burgers because it attracts new customers who normally do not come into the fast food chain. He declined to provide US sales figures for the meatless Whopper, or the target market share in Europe.
McDonald's is trying to catch up
The fast food brand, along with its competitors Yum Brands and Kentucky Fried Chicken, has taken a lead in the United States on the giant McDonald's, whose growth in recent months has been delayed by these vegetarian burgers . After experimenting in April with a Big Vegan in Germany, in collaboration with Nestle, McDonald's has been testing since the end of September a meatless cheeseburger in Canada but is not yet at the stage of large-scale commercialization.
The agri-food industry is engaged in a global competition on the new alternative protein market, in order to attract more and more consumers to adopt a vegan diet, for ecological, moral or dietary reasons. According to JPMorgan, the market for plant-based meat could reach $ 100 billion in 15 years, boosted by the climate emergency, because cattle breeding is one of the most polluting industries in the world .