This week, California-based vegan brand Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger will expand to 210 locations of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in China for a three-week trial. In June, KFC—operated in China by Yum China Holdings—tested the Beyond Burger (which is served with dairy-based toppings) for three days in five locations in Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. The expansion brings the Beyond Burger to additional restaurants in these cities (with the exception of Chengdu) and gives customers in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Wuhan the opportunity to try the plant-based patty.
“We see great potential for the plant-based meat market in China,” Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China, said in June. “This latest introduction across KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell brands is expected to capture valuable consumer feedback across different regions in China. It will enable us to optimize flavors and processes and help assess the potential for larger scale rollouts in the future. This exciting development is the latest iteration of our on-going commitment to introduce new and innovative products to Chinese consumers.”
Beyond Meat is currently building two production facilities in China’s eastern province of Zhejiang to manufacture its plant-based meat products, including vegan beef, pork, and chicken, for the Chinese market. Beyond Meat is the first multinational plant-based meat brand to bring its own major production facility to the country, and it’s expected to be one of the company’s biggest markets for both production and research and development in the near future.
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