Why Burger King's All-Vegan Location Didn't Last Long
As vegetarian and vegan diets have become increasingly popular, many restaurants have phased in plant-based items. Although Burger King's Impossible Whopper might be the most well-known, there are actually a wide variety of similarly impossible foods.
In fact, one Burger King in London, England, went entirely vegan for a trial period of one month. The restaurant offered plant-based burgers, as well as plant-based chicken nuggets, vegan cheese bites, vegan ice cream, and several other new vegan items (via Plant Based News).
The trial went as well as it did in other countries — Spain, Germany, China, France, and Mexico — and received generally positive reviews. Meat-lovers and vegans alike praised the new menu items, one person going so far as to tell the Mirror, "The humble chicken nugget could happily disappear off the shelves forever, and I don't think most meat-eaters would notice." If the trial went so well, why is the all-vegan Burger King backing out of London?
Burger King's all-vegan menu couldn't top the classic menu
Most menu changes come down to two things: cost-effectiveness and popularity (or lack thereof). In the case of the all-vegan Burger King, the menu was popular, but not quite as popular as the regular menu.
However, this doesn't mean that the vegan items are all going the way of Burger King's discontinued Cini Minis. According to EconoTimes, Burger King intends to continue selling the most popular vegan items at additional locations across the U.K.
One vegan chef in London told The Guardian he thinks fast food is "the best area to switch to vegan." Think about it: Fast food burger patties are already processed and slathered in condiments, so vegan substitutes can easily slip in relatively unnoticed. And if it tastes just as good, what's the difference?
But not everyone is on board. One woman tweeted about the all-vegan Burger King, calling it "manipulative" and "deliberately pushed on us." The vegan alternatives can hardly be called deceptive when they're advertised as vegan, but it's clear that some still aren't ready for this shift.