To the relief of some on Twitter, it wasn’t an April Fools’ joke.
On April 1, news broke that Burger King planned to introduce the Impossible Whopper — a meatless version of its iconic burger made by the start-up Impossible Foods.
At present, data from YouGov Plan and Track shows that 37% of current Burger King customers agree that restaurants should offer more vegan/vegetarian options. That’s more or less the same level of agreement found among both current McDonald’s customers (38%) and Wendy’s customers (40%). It is, however, slightly lower than among U.S. adults overall (42%).
While current Burger King customers might not immediately gravitate toward the Impossible Whopper, additional data suggests that the meatless menu item might attract new patrons — namely, younger consumers. In total, 53% of U.S. adults ages 18-34 agree that restaurants should offer more vegan/vegetarian options. This level of agreement seems to decline among older Americans.
Furthermore, 39% of consumers ages 18-34 believe it’s more ethical to be vegetarian, compared to 20% of those ages 35+.
Burger King isn’t the first restaurant of its kind to begin experimenting with plant-based substitutes. Last year, for example, White Castle introduced the Impossible Slider. Earlier this year, Taco Bell announced plans to begin testing its first vegetarian menu.
After Taco Bell said it intended to begin offering vegetarian items, a YouGov poll conducted in January 2019 found that 42% of U.S. adults ages 18-34 were either very interested or somewhat interested in trying vegetarian food from the restaurant chain, compared to 30% of consumers ages 35+ — yet again suggesting that younger consumers are more open to the idea of mainstream restaurant brands offering meatless options.
Following a test run of the Impossible Whopper at 59 locations in the St. Louis area, Burger King recently announced plans to make it available nationwide before the end of this year.
