The plant-based chicken, made by Beyond Meat, will be available in thousands of stores across the US from Monday for a limited time
KFC is launching plant-based fried chicken in 4,000 US outlets from Monday for a limited time, following the sell-out success of previous plant-based trials.
However, the fast-food giant will not be targeting vegetarians and vegans with the new options, but meat-eaters, as the items will be prepared using the same equipment as the meaty dishes and sold with non-vegan dipping sauces.
The six and 12-piece orders, which come with Honey BBQ, Ranch, Honey Mustard, and KFC Sauce, are priced from $6.99.
The latest roll-out – which marks KFC’s first nationwide launch of Beyond Chicken – follows successful trials in Georgia, Tennessee, and Southern California.
Vegan chicken success
While the vegan-friendly option will only be available for a limited time, KFC has hinted it will be bringing it back the in the future.
CEO Kevin Hochman said: “We expect it’ll sell out. Based on the speed of that sell-out and customer reaction, that’ll determine what our plans will be next. But our intent isn’t to be one and done.”
In a social media post about its nationwide debut, Beyond Meat added: “We’re excited to officially announce Beyond Fried Chicken will be making its national debut on January 10th.
“Yes, you heard us correctly. This exciting moment marks the start of the largest plant-based chicken launch EVER in the QSR industry. Stay tuned for more details and get ready to grab a bucket. We told you 2022 was going to be tasty…”
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While Beyond Chicken is not available in the UK, the Original Recipe Vegan Burger is available in all KFC's UK outlets
Vegan KFC in the UK
While Beyond Meat options aren’t available in KFC’s UK outlets, the fast-food chain does offer a plant-based sandwich – the Original Recipe Vegan Burger, which is now available as a permanent menu item in all restaurants.
Despite selling 1 million of the burgers within the first month of its January 2020 launch, KFC removed the option from its menus after lockdown as the chain reopened with a reduced menu. But as of yesterday, it is available in all stores again.
The burger, which features a Quorn fillet, fresh iceberg lettuce, and vegan mayo sandwiched in KFC’s signature bun, costs £3.99.
Looking for vegan-friendly options in the UK? Check out our guide to KFC vegan options.
