Vegan chicken nuggets recently sold out at fast-food chain KFC in Shanghai, China within one hour of its launch. KFC began testing plant-based chicken nuggets at three locations in China (Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen) for a limited time from April 28 to April 30. The nuggets—which are made by agribusiness company Cargill—were available for purchase from April 20 to April 23 through a presale coupon priced at 1.99 yuan ($0.28) for five pieces of plant-based chicken. Customers in Shanghai purchased the presale coupons within an hour of launch and more than 7,000 coupons were sold over the four-day period.
“We are committed to embracing innovation and continue to delight and surprise our customers with tasty products,” Joey Wat, CEO of KFC parent company Yum China, said. “The test of KFC’s Plant-Based Chicken Nuggets caters to the growing market in China for delicious alternative meat options on the go. We believe that testing the plant-based chicken concept with one of our most iconic products will take this increasingly popular meatless trend to a new level.”
After the successful trial at KFC, Cargill announced that it will launch new vegan consumer brand PlantEver to both online and offline retailers at the end of June and also expand its plant-based meat products to the foodservice sector.
Vegan chicken launches at KFC locations in other countries fared similarly well, including the United States. In August, KFC offered Beyond Fried Chicken (made by vegan brand Beyond Meat) at one location in Atlanta last year—where it sold out in less than five hours, prompting KFC to expand the option to nearly 70 test locations in Charlotte, NC, Nashville, TN, and surrounding areas in February.
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