Sweden’s Top Fast-Food Chain Develops Its Own Vegan Beef

Swedish fast-food chain Max Burgers recently launched its own vegan beef option at its 135 locations across Scandinavia. The chain’s head chef Jonas Mårtensson developed the product, called “Delifresh Plant Beef,” over the course of three years. “We started the search for an option that would fit Max’s menu, but quickly realized that none of the products we found could meet our tough requirements for really good taste,” Mårtensson said. “So we decided to develop our own plant-based burger for meat-lovers. For me the proof of our success was when my meat-loving son couldn’t feel a difference.” The new option is available as a replacement for beef in any burger on the menu and will be featured in a separate signature burger. “I’ve tried all known products in this category worldwide, and Max Delifresh Plant Beef is best in class,” Claes Petersson, Vice President and Chief Innovation & Development Officer at Max Burgers, said. “The protein of the future is on its way, and the front-runner is made by us here in Sweden. Our goal is for all the carnivores to feel like they can still have a really great hamburger without it actually being meat.” In 2016, Max Burgers added four meatless burgers to its menu and saw sales of its “Max Green” burgers quadruple within one year. In 2018, the chain expanded its plant-based options with vegan milkshakes with plans to replace their dairy-based counterparts to fulfill the chain’s greater mission of becoming more climate-friendly. By 2022, Max Burgers wants 50 percent of the meals it sells to contain something other than red meat—a goal it is nearly achieving with 40 percent such meals sold thus far in 2019.