Shake Shack Debuts Veggie Shack Burger Made From 11 Vegetables in Hong Kong & Macau

US fast-food chain Shake Shack has added the Veggie Shack burger to the menu at all Hong Kong and Macau stores for a limited time.

The Veggie Shack is coming to Hong Kong and Macau, as Shake Shack continues to roll out the whole-food burger across Asia-Pacific, following launches in Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

Made from 11 vegetables plus grains like farro and quinoa, the vegetarian burger has been in the making for six years. It’s paired with American cheese, pickles, crispy onions, and ShackSauce, all housed between the chain’s signature potato bun.

The chain wants to diversify its offerings to appeal to both meat-eaters and vegetarians. While the patty itself is plant-based, other elements – like the cheese, sauce and bun – are not. So at the moment, to make it vegan, the bun can be swapped for a lettuce wrap and the other elements can be removed.

Green Queen’s Sonalie Figueiras tasted the patty at a launch event in Hong Kong yesterday. “After trying (and failing) to taste the patty three different times during a California trip last year, my expectations were high. But this totally delivered,” she says.

“Tasty and very vegetable-forward, the Veggie Shack feels almost healthy, which is not typical of a burger chain. It’s a game-changer for the Hong Kong market.”

The HK$66 ($8.45) Veggie Shack will be available from September 12 to November 3 at all its 7 locations in Hong Kong and its Macau outlet. On launch day, the company is offering the burger for just half its price (HK$33/$4.23), while touring the city with a van.

Shake Shack celebrates veggie burger with truck tour

The Veggie Shack has been under development in Shake Shack’s Innovation Kitchen in New York City since 2018, with an iteration of the burger first launched in the US in May 2023.

The meatless burger is being introduced to the Asian market this year, with the QSR chain releasing it on the menu in Singapore in April. This was followed by the Philippines in August, and Thailand last weekend.

As in these other regions, the Veggie Shack is a separate menu item in Hong Kong and Macau and is cooked on the same grill as meat.

Unlike competitors McDonald’s and Burger King, whose vegetarian burger launches featured patties made by leading plant-based meat brands like Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and the Vegetarian Butcher, Shake Shack’s 11-vegetable base is made up of portobello mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, sweet potato, carrot, celery, leek, roasted red onion, roasted garlic, cabbage, beet and chives, complemented with whole-food ingredients like sunflower seeds and miso, alongside the quinoa and farro.

In addition to the Veggie Shack, the restaurant chain has brought out a limited-edition Earl Grey Shake, which comprises thick vanilla custard and is tipped with shortbread cookies, whipped cream, and a sprinkle of freshly soaked tea.

On launch day, a Shack-Van will be making its way through Hong Kong, starting at Central Pier at 11:30am, moving to Tsim Sha Tui at 1:30pm, and finishing at Kwai Fong at 4pm. Alongside the Veggie Shack, the food truck will feature lemonades and vouchers for free fries, as well as some goodies.

Shake Shack has also partnered with Simran Savlani, founder of local condiments brand A Spark of Madness (famous for its Hong Kong chilli crisp) and its eponymous vegetarian cookbook, who will host a Crinkle Cut Fries Jamming station on September 21 and 22 at IFC Mall and Harbour City, respectively. The experience will be open to guests who purchase both the Veggie Shack and Crinkle Cut Fries, with visitors getting to try Savlani’s line of sauces.

Keeping up with consumer trends

In its 20th year now, Shake Shack has taken a different route from fast-food counterparts like McDonald’s and Burger King, opting to develop whole-food patties in-house instead of collaborating with plant-based meat brands like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods.

The chain has tested different versions of its vegetarian patty in certain New York City locations since 2018. And it trialled a Vegan ShackBurger (with plant-based cheese and ShakeSauce too) at certain UK stores in 2020, before rolling out a Crispy Shallot Burger with a base of roasted mushrooms, onions, miso and bulgur wheat.

All these efforts play into consumers’ growing demand for whole-food options. Perhaps the most prominent example of this interest is Beyond Meat’s move into veggie sausages in July. With health at the forefront, Asian consumers want more whole foods too.

“Here’s hoping it inspires other chains to make their menus more inclusive,” Figueiras said of the new burger. “Many people love Shake Shack: teenagers, little kids, families – and those groups need options for the vegans and flexitarians among them.”

In Thailand, where the Veggie Shack is now available, 44% of consumers would like to replace meat with traditional plant proteins like beans, tofu and legumes, versus 29% who would prefer plant-based meat. Similarly, 47% say they’d rather eat whole-plant foods than meat analogues.

Likewise, in China, “vegetables that are high in protein, iron, and calcium are particularly appealing to consumers”, according to a survey by ProVeg. Marketing campaigns and strategies that clearly highlight the nutritional value of fresh produce (as well as meat and dairy analogues) were earmarked as a powerful way to attract more plant-based eaters.

Currently, there are no confirmed plans for the Veggie Shack in mainland China, but its rollout across Asia-Pacific is promising. The company has been experimenting with various climate and health-forward trends. It began trialling Zero Acre’s Cultured Oil in two New York City locations last year, as sentiments cool on seed oils.

The company also debuted a plant-based chocolate milkshake and chocolate custard in partnership with NotCo, the Chilean food tech startup that counts Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI) – the growth equity fund by Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer – as an investor. (Neither of these offerings are available in Asia-Pacific.)

EHI also co-led a $25M Series A round for Pinky Cole’s cult-favourite plant-based burger chain Slutty Vegan in 2022 – it now has 11 locations and is opening its latest one in the world’s busiest airport later this year.