Burger King Spain’s Madrid Branch Turns Into Vegetarian ‘Vurger King’

Burger King Spain just turned one of its outlets in Madrid into a “Vurger King”. For one month, the Paseo del Prado branch in the Spanish capital will go meatless, serving up vegetarian versions of all of the chain’s classics, from Plant Based Whoppers to chickenless nuggets. 

Burger King Spain has transformed its Paseo del Prado branch in Madrid into a 100% meat-free pop-up. Lasting for one month, the outlet, which the chain’s Spanish official Twitter account described as a “Vurger King”, will be serving only vegetarian food and drinks. It has been launched in collaboration with Unilever-owned The Vegetarian Butcher, the Dutch meatless brand supplying all the plant-based meat alternatives on the menu. 

Burger King x The Vegetarian Butcher

After entering the green-themed storefront, customers at the Vurger King pop-up will be able to choose from a 100% vegetarian menu with options such as the Plant Based Whopper, vegan chicken nuggets and a new Long Vegetal, a meatless version of the chain’s Long Chicken classic. All the substitutes are supplied by The Vegetarian Butcher.

While all the items are free of meat products, the burger and chicken sandwich is not suitable for vegans, as it contains conventional egg-based mayonnaise. Vegans can customise their orders by asking to remove mayonnaise. The entire menu has been certified with a V-Label, which ensures that the dishes have not had any contact with meat. 

Plant-based demand

Speaking about the decision to transform the store into a meatless branch temporarily, general director of Restaurant Brands Iberia, the operator of Burger King in Spain and Portugal, shared that customers are now demanding plant-based options more than ever before—especially flexitarians. 

“We want to reach both people who base their diet on vegetable products and those who do eat meat but want to reduce their consumption,” said Borja Hernández de Alba. 

One recent survey estimates that as many as 42% of global consumers now consider themselves flexitarians who are actively reducing their meat and dairy consumption for ethical, environmental and health reasons. 

Burger King embraces green trend

It’s no surprise, therefore, that Burger King has made plant-forward moves across its markets globally, updating its menu to keep up with the trend. Most recently, the fast food giant extended its partnership with Impossible Foods to launch the food tech’s newest product, vegan chicken nuggets. 

In many of its global markets, Burger King has partnered with The Vegetarian Butcher, which supplies the meatless patties in outlets across mainland China, Indonesia, Singapore, Europe and the UK. A similar meatless pop-up was also opened in Germany’s Cologne branch earlier this year, again in partnership with The Vegetarian Butcher. 

Elsewhere, the QSR collaborates with Aussie food tech v2food, which provides vegan burger patties in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines. 

All images courtesy of Burger King Spain.