What’s going on here?

Taco Bell has long had a reputation as vegetarian-friendly, but it’s not planning on adding any plant-based meat substitutes from Beyond Meat or Impossible Foods to its menu.

What does it mean?

• At the beginning of 2019, Taco Bell said it would begin testing a vegetarian menu, which came around the same time that
  • Carl’s Jr. announced it would start selling a plant-based Beyond Meat burger at its 1,100 locations;
  • competitors like Qdoba and Del Taco have also added plant-based ground beef to their menu.
• Taco Bell is instead going to focus on growing awareness for its own vegetarian options. Today, 9% of its menu is vegetarian, but customers have been swapping out ground beef for beans in their tacos and burritos for years. In fact, the bean burrito is Taco Bell’s No. 2 bestseller.

What are the numbers?

• Five percent of Americans identify as vegetarians;
• Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods are targeting their plant-based options at another group: flexitarians
  • Nearly 60% of U.S. consumers have an interest in eating less meat;
  • They are mostly focused on taste — a quality vegetarian and vegan options often lack, but they seem to like the taste of products from Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods.
• Plant-based options usually carry a higher price tag. Del Taco’s same-store sales  (after launching Beyond Tacos) declined by 0.1% during its first quarter.
• Meanwhile, Taco Bell reported 4% same-store sales growth during its first quarter. It has about 12 times as many locations as Del Taco.

Some final words

• Companies can now choose to focus on pure vegetarians or flexitarians.
• The cost for the switch from meat to “delicious” plant should be seriously planned ahead.

Content source: Lucas. A. (2019) Taco Bell will not be adding fake meat from Beyond Meat or Impossible Foods to its menu. CNBC. Available from: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/19/taco-bell-will-not-be-adding-fake-meat-from-beyond-meat-to-its-menu.html [Accessed 30 June 2019]