America may run on Dunkin’, but now it can run on meatless meat. Did I hear that right? Yes, meatless meat. Last week the fast-food chain added a new breakfast sandwich to its Manhattan menus made with Beyond Meat’s vegetarian “sausage” patty. It said they would soon serve them nationwide.
This move puts Dunkin’ in line with other chains that have added meat substitutes from both Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. It shows fast-food restaurant chains are learning to adapt with the rising trend of consumers wanting healthier foods.
Beyond Meat may sound familiar to you. It should, considering it was in the news all this week reporting earnings. A quick cheat sheet: it faced wider losses and greater revenue than analysts had predicted for Q2. Plus, its stock has risen almost 800% since it’s May IPO.
However, Beyond’s shares fell a bit this week after announcing a possible secondary offering. It does not seem like this will greatly affect the company, as plant-based meat sales have risen 10% in the past year to around $800 million annually.
This new partnership is not the first move Dunkin’ has made to change its image. Last year, the chain dropped Donuts from its name in an attempt to come across as an overall coffee and food brand, not just donuts. It will be interesting to see where this new move with Beyond Meat takes Dunkin’ this time, and if people respond positively to the partnership.