Starting in January, TGI Fridays will add the plant-based “meat” company Beyond Meat’s burger patty substitute to their menu.
According to Fast Company, more than 465 Fridays locations will get in the mix, making them the first casual-dining chain to add the option.
What the h-e-double-hockey-sticks is Beyond Meat?
Launched in 2009, the Southern California-based company has slowly perfected their beef alternative to break the mold of the average veggie or black bean patty, and actually create a substitute that looks, feels, and tastes like meat.
Unlike veggie patty companies, Beyond Meat isn’t interested in vegans or vegetarians. Their whole strategy is to market their non-meats to actual meat eaters, in hopes of saving some cows — and, for that matter, humans.
Started in the grocery biz now we’re here
While Beyond Meat is new to the restaurant world, they’re having great success in the retail space, lining the shelves of grocery stores like Whole Foods, Kroger, Albertsons, and Safeway.
Their sales tactic: sitting right next to the actual beef, to get those meat eaters right in that marketing sweet spot of feeling both guilty and curious.
The jump into the restaurant world will provide a big push forward in customer reach and also a chance to compete with their fake-meat rivals already in the space.
