Burger King Extends ‘Impossible’ Franchise With the Launch Of Impossible’s Vegan Nuggets

It made the Impossible Whopper famous. Now, Burger King is bringing the brand’s first vegan nuggets to market in a three-city market test.

Burger King customers across Des Moines, Iowa, Boston, and Miami will be among the first in the U.S. to try the plant-based nuggets for a limited time. If successful, Burger King says it could take the nuggets nationwide.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve teamed up with Impossible to make waves in the industry. In 2019, we became the first quick-service restaurant to serve the award-winning, plant-based Impossible patty and offer the iconic
Impossible Whopper,” Burger King North America Chief Marketing Officer Ellie Doty said in a statement. 

The chain first brought the Impossible Whopper to market in 2019 to rave reviews, expanding from its test launch to thousands of locations. It soon dropped the price on the plant-based burger making it more comparable to its beef option.

Burger King is the first major fast-food chain to test the Impossible nuggets. Impossible launched the nuggets last month after its chief competitor, Beyond Meat, debuted its vegan nuggets in July.

The nuggets will come in eight-piece orders, and the fast-food giant says they will have the “savory taste of a family favorite, with a golden-brown crispy breading on the outside and a tender, juicy bite on the inside.”

Vegan chicken demand

Plant-based chicken has become an increasingly in-demand item; chicken is the top-consumed meat in the U.S. And with beef alternatives already abundant across restaurants and supermarkets, the focus has now shifted to offering more options to chicken.

Like the plant-based Whopper, Impossible’s nuggets offer Burger King a new revenue stream targeted at eco- and health-conscious consumers—typically the millennials and Gen-Z—seeking to decrease their meat consumption.

The option also comes as chicken prices are rising. Bank of America Securities reported recently that chicken commodity prices have doubled this year. KFC parent company Yum Brands pulled advertising for its chicken tenders last month after it faced a shortage.

For Impossible Foods, it’s all part of the brand’s plan to help usher in the end of meat—founder Pat Brown has set a 2035 target for that fundamental shift in protein.

“I want to put the animal agriculture industry out of business. It’s that simple. The goal is not because I have any ill will toward the people who work in that industry, but because it is the most destructive industry on Earth,” Brown said in January.

The new Impossible Nuggets will be available in the test locations beginning on Monday.

Lead image courtesy Burger King