Major Italian Chain Fazoli’s Tests Plant-Based Impossible Meat Spaghetti Sauce 

This week, national Italian chain Fazoli’s added Impossible Foods’ plant-based meat to the menu of all five of its hometown locations in Lexington, KY. Rick Petralia—the Director of Culinary Innovation for the 220-location chain—developed two dishes featuring Impossible Foods’ plant-based meat, including a fully plant-based option. The limited-time Impossible Spaghetti features a large bowl of spaghetti topped with a sauce made from the plant-based meat, vine-ripened tomatoes, garlic, and basil. This year, several other Italian chains have experimented with new vegan meat options, including Old Spaghetti Factory which launched vegan Beyond Meat Spaghetti and Meatballs across its Canadian locations this summer. In the retail sector, old world Italian brand MamaMancini—which distributes its products to 45,000 outlets nationwide, including Walmart, Publix, and Costco—developed two vegan products (Beyond Beef Meatballs & Sauce and Spaghetti & Beyond Beef Meatball Pasta Bowls) this fall.