04 Jan 2021 --- Unilevers plant-based brand The Vegetarian Butcher is expanding its partnership with fast food giant Burger King to launch the Plant-Based Whopper in Latin America, the Caribbean and China.<\/p>\n
The rollout closely follows launches across the Middle East and North Africa, including entry into UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Morocco.<\/p>\n
The brands expansion into additional continents follows a successful year in Europe, where The Vegetarian Butcher experienced strong growth across foodservice and retail, driven by its entry into 16 new European markets in 2020.<\/p>\n
[Entry into these new markets] marks an important milestone in our ambition to reach annual global sales of 1 billion (US$1.2 billion) from plant-based meat and dairy alternatives within the next five to seven years, says Hanneke Faber, president of Unilevers foods and refreshment division.<\/p>\n
The expansion is further confirmation of the huge global demand for high-quality plant-based foods, she adds.<\/p>\n
Plant-based meat alternatives are growing at 15.8 percent annually as more people shift to a flexitarian diet worldwide.<\/p>\n
Click to EnlargeThe Plant-Based Whopper, powered by The Vegetarian Butcher, has launched in over 35 countries.Fast food plant-basedThe Plant-Based Whopper taps into the growing flexitarian demographic of meat eaters who want to reduce their consumption of meat, without having to sacrifice on taste and texture.<\/p>\n
The Plant-Based Whopper, launched in over 35 countries, has been a real game-changer and become one of the biggest launches in the brands history, adds Matt Banton, global head of innovation and sustainability at Burger King.<\/p>\n
The growth has helped the brand further tap into the ongoing global surge in demand for plant-based foods as people around the world become more conscious of the impact of animal products on their health and the planet.<\/p>\n
Expanding global reachThe Plant-Based Whopper has now been launched in 325 Burger King outlets across Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou, China, with nationwide rollout plans from Q2 of 2021.<\/p>\n
Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Suriname, Saint Martin and Saint Kitts are the first Latin American and Caribbean countries to add the Plant-Based Whopper to the Burger King menu, with more markets to follow throughout 2021.<\/p>\n
In EMEA, Burger King expanded its menus last year with Plant-Based Nuggets, also supplied by The Vegetarian Butcher.<\/p>\n
In parallel, The Vegetarian Butcher recently launched via foodservice channels in Brazil, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.<\/p>\n
Driving sustainability through plant-based salesThe latest move into new territory marks significant global expansion of the partnership between Burger King and The Vegetarian Butcher, whichkicked offin 2019 with the introduction of the plant-based Rebel Whopper across 25 European countries.<\/p>\n
UnileveracquiredNetherlands-based The Vegetarian Butcher in 2018 for an undisclosed amount.<\/p>\n
Unilever has been expanding its plant-based meat and dairy alternativesbusiness for several years by developing vegan versions of well-known classics, such as Hellmanns mayonnaise and Magnum ice creams.<\/p>\n
The company recently launched its Future Foods commitments, which aim to help people transition towards healthier diets and to help reduce the environmental impact of the global food chain.<\/p>\n
As part of its goals, Unilever set a global sales target to net 1 billion (US$1.2 billion) from plant-based meat and dairy alternatives within the next five to seven years.<\/p>\n
The multinational also aims to roll out The Vegetarian Butcher brand and ramp up vegan alternatives from brands including Hellmanns, Magnum and Walls.<\/p>\n
Last month, Unilever also presented its shareholders with a non-binding advisory vote on the companys climate transition action plan to reduce emissions.<\/p>\n
Edited by Missy Green<\/p>\n
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