Wendy’s Partners with Beyond Meat to Launch Plant Burger in Georgia

Beyond Meat and Wendy’s Georgia have announced a new menu item, the Plant Burger, a marker of the vegan giant’s European focus this year.

Californian plant-based pioneer Beyond Meat has struck its latest QSR partnership with fast-food giant Wendy’s, which is launching a vegan burger in Georgia.

The Wendy’s Plant Burger will be rolled out at all 19 of the chain’s stores in the Eurasian country on Saturday (November 23). It is unclear whether the bun or mayo used are vegan-friendly, but the menu item will be available for a limited time, while supplies last.

The collaboration was facilitated by the Wissol Group, which is a Wendy’s franchisee in several markets in the region, and Gastronome, a Tbilisi-based food business that represents Beyond Meat in Georgia.

“We’re proud to be partnering with Wendy’s Georgia to introduce our plant-based meat to a new market,” said Hameed Jagani, VP of global strategic partnerships at Beyond Meat.

Wendy’s Beyond Meat burger aimed at meeting ‘local demand’

The Plant Burger, which was unveiled in a launch ceremony yesterday, features Beyond Meat’s signature beef patty at the centre, and is topped with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, ketchup and mayo.

“The Wendy’s plant-based meat burger offers the same great taste and texture customers have come to expect, no sacrifice required,” remarked Jagani. “This partnership aligns with our mission to make plant-based eating more accessible for consumers around the world.”

Wissol Group president Samson Pkhakadze added: “Wendy’s Georgia and Beyond Meat share a commitment and mutual passion for food quality and corporate social responsibility. We’re excited to deliver on Wendy’s Quality is our Recipe promise by offering customers a wider range of choices.”

He noted the partnership “will allow Wendy’s Georgia to cater to the local demand for vegetarian and flexitarian options, providing even more choices for today’s conscious consumers”. According to one survey, six in 10 university students are interested in trying new plant-based foods.

“By partnering with Beyond Meat, we can provide a plant-based meat offering that tastes great and can help make a positive impact,” Pkhakadze said.

“Georgia is the first country in the world to offer this incredible product at Wendy’s, and we are so proud to be part of this milestone,” said Lika Shalikashvili, head of imports and logistics at Gastronome. “We look forward to seeing this project succeed not only in Georgia but as a model of success that can inspire the rest of the world.”

Georgia launch a sign of Beyond Meat’s European focus

Entering the Georgian market is an extension of one of Beyond Meat’s top business priorities this year: investment into its European expansion. “We just don’t have that large of a presence out in Europe at the moment,” the company’s COO, Lubi Kutua, had told investors in its Q2 earnings call.

One of its biggest successes has come through its deal with McDonald’s. The world’s largest restaurant chain has made waves with the McPlant burger, which has been a catalyst for Beyond Meat’s European growth. The McPlant (alongside several variants) is also available as a permanent menu item in Austria, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia, the Baltics, the UK and Ireland.

In Germany, Europe’s largest plant-based market, the McPlant was part of the Famous Order meal promotion, featuring on menus curated by Tokio Hotel members Bill and Tom Kaulitz. Meanwhile, has boosted its retail performance here by tweaking its product formulations to satisfy local shelf-life requirements. “With a clear caution that it is very early days, we are seeing encouraging initial sell-through in this important market,” CEO Ethan Brown said in the latest earnings call.

In addition, it launched the Beyond Steak at retail in Belgium and for foodservice in the Netherlands (where it also rolled out the Beyond Smash and Beyond Burger Jalapeño), and expanded the availability of its signature burger at Coop stores in the UK.

While Beyond Meat’s chicken hasn’t performed as strongly in Europe, the company is aiming to change that with the rollout of Veggie McPlant Nuggets at McDonald’s France last month. The vegan nuggets are also a permanent menu item in Germany.

That said, Beyond Meat’s foodservice record is somewhat patchy. Its deal with Yum! Brands, for example, saw short-lived partnerships with Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell, while the McPlant famously failed to gain ground in the US. Meanwhile, international foodservice was the only channel where its revenues continued to slip last quarter, largely due to “decreased sales of burger and chicken products to a large QSR customer in the EU”.

So by entering a new market and a new fast-food partnership, Beyond Meat is looking to turn its global foodservice sales in the same direction as the rest of its business, where year-on-year revenue grew for the first time in two years in the July to September period.