Burger King CEO Is “All in” on Plant-Based Food 

Fast-food chain Burger King is “all in” on further exploring plant-based options, according to company CEO Jose Cil. This past April, Burger King added the Impossible Whopper to the menu of 59 St. Louis, MO locations to test the meat-free option with consumers before expanding the burger to its more than 7,200 locations nationwide in August. Since, Burger King has experimented with featuring the plant-based Impossible Burger patty on other portions of its menu, including in kids meals, and as part of classic cheeseburgers and downsized Jr. Whoppers. “I think it’s just the beginning. It’s a brand new category, it’s a category we are leading not just in the U.S. but globally,” Cil told Yahoo Finance. “And we think there is a lot of work to do still in terms of raising awareness, what are the benefits of it, and then being able to offer some different products as well as occasions so that the consumer could expand their knowledge of the product. We are all in.” Burger King recently added the Impossible Whopper to its “two for $6” promotional menu and while some media outlets speculated that the move symbolised the downfall of the plant-based burger, Cil explained that discounting the Impossible Whopper was part of a further exploration about the viability of the new option. “We felt introducing it in the two for $6 gave us the opportunity to make it accessible to a broader group of consumers,” Cil said. “That over time will help us build on plant-based as a core element of our business long-term.” In late January, Burger King expanded its partnership with Impossible Foods and began testing the Impossible Croissan’wich—a breakfast offering made with the plant-based company’s newest product, Impossible Pork—at 139 select locations nationwide.