Mexico Gets Its First Meatless Whopper

The Whopper Vegetal recently launched at Burger King’s 201 locations across Mexico, marking the first time the chain offered a meatless burger on the menu in the country. The new burger is made with a plant-based patty created by Dutch brand The Vegetarian Butcher—which was acquired by Unilever in 2018 as part of the food giant’s mission to meet consumer demand for plant-based meat. Along with the plant-based patty, the Whopper Vegetal is served with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and onions. It is unclear whether the burger contains non-vegan mayonnaise or if it is prepared on the same surface as Burger King’s animal meat-based options. 

“At Unilever, we are very excited to expand our partnership with Burger King. The Whopper Vegetal offers meat lovers a delicious option that is cooked and tastes like beef, but is 100 percent plant-based,” Adelma González, General Director of Unilever Food Solutions Mexico and North of Latin America, said. “Research shows that, in the last six years, the number of people looking for an alternative to animal meat has almost doubled in Mexico. We are bringing in The Vegetarian Butcher to meet this growing demand with history, performance, and flavor.”

Meatless Whoppers everywhere

In August 2019, Burger King first launched the Impossible Whopper—made with an Impossible Burger plant-based patty—at all of its locations across the United States. Since, different versions of meatless Whoppers have made their way onto menus across the world, including the Rebel Whopper in Brazil (which feature a plant-based patty produced by Marfrig Global Foods SA—the world’s largest producer of animal-based hamburgers); and the Rebel Whopper in Sweden (where the patty is made by an undisclosed European brand which also supplies Swedish locations of the chain with the patty for a Rebel Chicken King meatless sandwich).