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The Impossible Whopper: Your thoughts on plant-based burgers?

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Replies

  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    edited April 2019
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    And they have a mission.... oddly ominous. Lol


    Of course they have a mission. Every venture does and sometimes lists their mission statement on their website. They wouldn't have created it if they didn't want to accomplish something with it. If it was up to them, no one would ever eat meat again. That's irrelevant, though. Does it taste good? Does it serve a purpose? Does it provide an option? That's what's important.

    I forgot the sarcastic winky face
    ;)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    swirlybee wrote: »
    I've tried the Impossible Burger at three places now - Umami Burger, Fat Burger, and Carl's Jr. So far, Umami Burger was the best and the only one that was indistinguishable from a real burger. Fat Burger tasted and looked more like ground chicken or ground pork. I tried Carl's Jr twice and the second time it made me nauseous about halfway through. I thought I read somewhere that it has to be cooked a certain way in order for it taste like real beef.

    Carl's Jr is the Beyond Burger, not the Impossible Burger. To me, the products have distinct differences. Between the two, I prefer the Impossible Burger.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,000 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    To me it comes down to why would I eat an imitation burger, that costs more and does not have the same nutrition as beef, when i could eat and enjoy the beef patty? I can see no reason at all.

    Eat a varied diet, problem solved.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,000 Member
    33gail33 wrote: »
    I think every fast food place should have a veggie burger. I don't understand how it doesn't just make business sense. (Yes I am a vegetarian but that isn't my point.) We don't prefer to eat fast food but when we are driving somewhere (husband and I) and we want to pick up something quick we would drive-thru at McDonald's IF they had a veggie burger for me to eat, while my husband eats his beef burger. But they don't. So we go to Harvey's.
    One vegetarian in a group of people that has to be fed can make the decision for where the whole group goes. I don't get why they don't all have a veggie burger option.

    I imagine the demand is not there yet. Believe me, if they thought there would be a profit they would.
  • dewy333
    dewy333 Posts: 20 Member
    I'll try anything once.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    J72FIT wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    I think every fast food place should have a veggie burger. I don't understand how it doesn't just make business sense. (Yes I am a vegetarian but that isn't my point.) We don't prefer to eat fast food but when we are driving somewhere (husband and I) and we want to pick up something quick we would drive-thru at McDonald's IF they had a veggie burger for me to eat, while my husband eats his beef burger. But they don't. So we go to Harvey's.
    One vegetarian in a group of people that has to be fed can make the decision for where the whole group goes. I don't get why they don't all have a veggie burger option.

    I imagine the demand is not there yet. Believe me, if they thought there would be a profit they would.

    Yep, in places where vegetarian and vegan diets are more common, McDonald's already offers options for them. They're not doing it here yet, but they clearly aren't ideologically opposed to making money from it. When/if the market shifts more here, we'll probably see more options.
  • 33gail33
    33gail33 Posts: 1,155 Member
    J72FIT wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    I think every fast food place should have a veggie burger. I don't understand how it doesn't just make business sense. (Yes I am a vegetarian but that isn't my point.) We don't prefer to eat fast food but when we are driving somewhere (husband and I) and we want to pick up something quick we would drive-thru at McDonald's IF they had a veggie burger for me to eat, while my husband eats his beef burger. But they don't. So we go to Harvey's.
    One vegetarian in a group of people that has to be fed can make the decision for where the whole group goes. I don't get why they don't all have a veggie burger option.

    I imagine the demand is not there yet. Believe me, if they thought there would be a profit they would.

    Yep, in places where vegetarian and vegan diets are more common, McDonald's already offers options for them. They're not doing it here yet, but they clearly aren't ideologically opposed to making money from it. When/if the market shifts more here, we'll probably see more options.

    Hmm. I am in Canada and supposedly 10% of us are vegetarian/vegan. I would think that would be enough to influence the market, but maybe not.
    There is an assumption (idk how true it is) that vegetarians are more health conscious. Maybe they wouldn't eat much at fast food places and that is why they don't cater to them.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    33gail33 wrote: »
    J72FIT wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    I think every fast food place should have a veggie burger. I don't understand how it doesn't just make business sense. (Yes I am a vegetarian but that isn't my point.) We don't prefer to eat fast food but when we are driving somewhere (husband and I) and we want to pick up something quick we would drive-thru at McDonald's IF they had a veggie burger for me to eat, while my husband eats his beef burger. But they don't. So we go to Harvey's.
    One vegetarian in a group of people that has to be fed can make the decision for where the whole group goes. I don't get why they don't all have a veggie burger option.

    I imagine the demand is not there yet. Believe me, if they thought there would be a profit they would.

    Yep, in places where vegetarian and vegan diets are more common, McDonald's already offers options for them. They're not doing it here yet, but they clearly aren't ideologically opposed to making money from it. When/if the market shifts more here, we'll probably see more options.

    Hmm. I am in Canada and supposedly 10% of us are vegetarian/vegan. I would think that would be enough to influence the market, but maybe not.
    There is an assumption (idk how true it is) that vegetarians are more health conscious. Maybe they wouldn't eat much at fast food places and that is why they don't cater to them.

    I am not sure what the tipping point is for larger chains, but my point was that if McDonald's is offering vegetarian options in India and parts of Europe, but not in the US/Canada, their own research is showing that the tipping point isn't there yet. Maybe the success of more recent offerings from other chains will help them realize the time has come (I hope so!).
  • FireOpalCO
    FireOpalCO Posts: 641 Member
    33gail33 wrote: »

    Hmm. I am in Canada and supposedly 10% of us are vegetarian/vegan. I would think that would be enough to influence the market, but maybe not.
    There is an assumption (idk how true it is) that vegetarians are more health conscious. Maybe they wouldn't eat much at fast food places and that is why they don't cater to them.

    Canada is so large that the it's virtually guaranteed that the population isn't smoothly distributed across the country. There are probably areas with 15-20% vegetarian and areas with "that Wilson girl" as their sole representative.
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    33gail33 wrote: »
    J72FIT wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    I think every fast food place should have a veggie burger. I don't understand how it doesn't just make business sense. (Yes I am a vegetarian but that isn't my point.) We don't prefer to eat fast food but when we are driving somewhere (husband and I) and we want to pick up something quick we would drive-thru at McDonald's IF they had a veggie burger for me to eat, while my husband eats his beef burger. But they don't. So we go to Harvey's.
    One vegetarian in a group of people that has to be fed can make the decision for where the whole group goes. I don't get why they don't all have a veggie burger option.

    I imagine the demand is not there yet. Believe me, if they thought there would be a profit they would.

    Yep, in places where vegetarian and vegan diets are more common, McDonald's already offers options for them. They're not doing it here yet, but they clearly aren't ideologically opposed to making money from it. When/if the market shifts more here, we'll probably see more options.

    Hmm. I am in Canada and supposedly 10% of us are vegetarian/vegan. I would think that would be enough to influence the market, but maybe not.
    There is an assumption (idk how true it is) that vegetarians are more health conscious. Maybe they wouldn't eat much at fast food places and that is why they don't cater to them.

    I am not sure what the tipping point is for larger chains, but my point was that if McDonald's is offering vegetarian options in India and parts of Europe, but not in the US/Canada, their own research is showing that the tipping point isn't there yet. Maybe the success of more recent offerings from other chains will help them realize the time has come (I hope so!).

    I think the general hope with burgers like the impossible burger and beyond burger, etc, is that they can draw some of the market share of meat eaters as well, to make it more viable. People who wouldn't want a normal veggie burger but would be willing to eat this. And combine them with vegetarians and you have a real market for it.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    FireOpalCO wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »

    Hmm. I am in Canada and supposedly 10% of us are vegetarian/vegan. I would think that would be enough to influence the market, but maybe not.
    There is an assumption (idk how true it is) that vegetarians are more health conscious. Maybe they wouldn't eat much at fast food places and that is why they don't cater to them.

    Canada is so large that the it's virtually guaranteed that the population isn't smoothly distributed across the country. There are probably areas with 15-20% vegetarian and areas with "that Wilson girl" as their sole representative.

    A new kosher restaurant just opened up in Toronto and started offering it. This is amazing, in no small part because kosher restaurants are either "meat" or "dairy" and it's rare that a meat restaurant will have more than one vegetarian option (usually stir-fried veg over steamed rice or just plain pasta in tomato sauce. I.E. pretty low protein.) I do plan on trying it at some point, though given the restaurant prices, it'll have to be a special occasion.
  • JessAndreia
    JessAndreia Posts: 540 Member
    edited April 2019
    33gail33 wrote: »
    J72FIT wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    I think every fast food place should have a veggie burger. I don't understand how it doesn't just make business sense. (Yes I am a vegetarian but that isn't my point.) We don't prefer to eat fast food but when we are driving somewhere (husband and I) and we want to pick up something quick we would drive-thru at McDonald's IF they had a veggie burger for me to eat, while my husband eats his beef burger. But they don't. So we go to Harvey's.
    One vegetarian in a group of people that has to be fed can make the decision for where the whole group goes. I don't get why they don't all have a veggie burger option.

    I imagine the demand is not there yet. Believe me, if they thought there would be a profit they would.

    Yep, in places where vegetarian and vegan diets are more common, McDonald's already offers options for them. They're not doing it here yet, but they clearly aren't ideologically opposed to making money from it. When/if the market shifts more here, we'll probably see more options.

    Hmm. I am in Canada and supposedly 10% of us are vegetarian/vegan. I would think that would be enough to influence the market, but maybe not.
    There is an assumption (idk how true it is) that vegetarians are more health conscious. Maybe they wouldn't eat much at fast food places and that is why they don't cater to them.

    McDonald's in Canada was selling a vegetarian wrap a while ago. They took it off the menu. Guess it wasn't selling well enough. The wrap was veggies with hummus and feta cheese and some feta-based sauce.
    The Beyond Meat burger and Beyond Sausage at A&W in Canada has been selling extremely well, though. The Beyond meat burger was even sold out for a few days after launch. So maybe it's also about the product they offer - A&W veggie options appeal to even some meat-eaters, (and probably is more appealing to vegans as well); a wrap with only veggies doesn't.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    J72FIT wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    I think every fast food place should have a veggie burger. I don't understand how it doesn't just make business sense. (Yes I am a vegetarian but that isn't my point.) We don't prefer to eat fast food but when we are driving somewhere (husband and I) and we want to pick up something quick we would drive-thru at McDonald's IF they had a veggie burger for me to eat, while my husband eats his beef burger. But they don't. So we go to Harvey's.
    One vegetarian in a group of people that has to be fed can make the decision for where the whole group goes. I don't get why they don't all have a veggie burger option.

    I imagine the demand is not there yet. Believe me, if they thought there would be a profit they would.

    Also having separate areas to cook the veggie burgers will affect workflow.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    edited April 2019
    FireOpalCO wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »

    Hmm. I am in Canada and supposedly 10% of us are vegetarian/vegan. I would think that would be enough to influence the market, but maybe not.
    There is an assumption (idk how true it is) that vegetarians are more health conscious. Maybe they wouldn't eat much at fast food places and that is why they don't cater to them.

    Canada is so large that the it's virtually guaranteed that the population isn't smoothly distributed across the country. There are probably areas with 15-20% vegetarian and areas with "that Wilson girl" as their sole representative.

    A new kosher restaurant just opened up in Toronto and started offering it. This is amazing, in no small part because kosher restaurants are either "meat" or "dairy" and it's rare that a meat restaurant will have more than one vegetarian option (usually stir-fried veg over steamed rice or just plain pasta in tomato sauce. I.E. pretty low protein.) I do plan on trying it at some point, though given the restaurant prices, it'll have to be a special occasion.

    Yeah people who keep strict kosher diets is one of the audiences that I was thinking about who haven't been mentioned. Arguably it's a small audience in most locations, but one that isn't often given options. Mind you, people who only eat food prepared in a kosher kitchen aren't going to going to a Burger King outside of Israe, but I know plenty of people who don't mix meat and dairy but will eat out at non-kosher restaurants.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,102 Member
    aokoye wrote: »
    J72FIT wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    I think every fast food place should have a veggie burger. I don't understand how it doesn't just make business sense. (Yes I am a vegetarian but that isn't my point.) We don't prefer to eat fast food but when we are driving somewhere (husband and I) and we want to pick up something quick we would drive-thru at McDonald's IF they had a veggie burger for me to eat, while my husband eats his beef burger. But they don't. So we go to Harvey's.
    One vegetarian in a group of people that has to be fed can make the decision for where the whole group goes. I don't get why they don't all have a veggie burger option.

    I imagine the demand is not there yet. Believe me, if they thought there would be a profit they would.

    Also having separate areas to cook the veggie burgers will affect workflow.

    Any indication that they're cooking them separately? It doesn't seem as if most restaurants cook their vegetarian things separately from the meaty ones, even if that means a common grill surface for things like burgers.
  • yukfoo
    yukfoo Posts: 871 Member
    edited April 2019
    "The patty in our Beyond Meat Burger is 100% plant-based. However, we cook all our burger patties, including our beef patties, on the same grill, and our mayo is made with eggs. Our restaurants are happy to help you modify the toppings of the burger to your preference. See the full ingredients list for the Beyond Meat Burger..."
    https://web.aw.ca/en/our-values/our-food/beyondmeat
  • 33gail33
    33gail33 Posts: 1,155 Member
    edited April 2019
    33gail33 wrote: »
    J72FIT wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    I think every fast food place should have a veggie burger. I don't understand how it doesn't just make business sense. (Yes I am a vegetarian but that isn't my point.) We don't prefer to eat fast food but when we are driving somewhere (husband and I) and we want to pick up something quick we would drive-thru at McDonald's IF they had a veggie burger for me to eat, while my husband eats his beef burger. But they don't. So we go to Harvey's.
    One vegetarian in a group of people that has to be fed can make the decision for where the whole group goes. I don't get why they don't all have a veggie burger option.

    I imagine the demand is not there yet. Believe me, if they thought there would be a profit they would.

    Yep, in places where vegetarian and vegan diets are more common, McDonald's already offers options for them. They're not doing it here yet, but they clearly aren't ideologically opposed to making money from it. When/if the market shifts more here, we'll probably see more options.

    Hmm. I am in Canada and supposedly 10% of us are vegetarian/vegan. I would think that would be enough to influence the market, but maybe not.
    There is an assumption (idk how true it is) that vegetarians are more health conscious. Maybe they wouldn't eat much at fast food places and that is why they don't cater to them.

    McDonald's in Canada was selling a vegetarian wrap a while ago. They took it off the menu. Guess it wasn't selling well enough. The wrap was veggies with hummus and feta cheese and some feta-based sauce.
    The Beyond Meat burger and Beyond Sausage at A&W in Canada has been selling extremely well, though. The Beyond meat burger was even sold out for a few days after launch. So maybe it's also about the product they offer - A&W veggie options appeal to even some meat-eaters, (and probably is more appealing to vegans as well); a wrap with only veggies doesn't.

    They took the veggie wraps off the menu when they went with the all day breakfast, so my guess is that they consider the egg muffin thing their veggie option? Idk I just know on the drive to my cottage I used to be able to get a veggie wrap, or even a grilled cheese, which they used to have in the kids meals, which they also dont have anymore. I dont care all that much about McDonalds but it seems weird to me that they are going in the opposite direction. 🤷‍♀️ Personally I still think is odd they dont have a veggie burger.

    As for the beyond meat burger it doesnt really appeal to me. I dont really have the desire to eat something that imitates meat at this point. I would much rather have a black bean, or lentil or portobello mushroom burger. I would eat a burger like that if I was in a hurry/drive through type scenario. But I wouldn't seek it out.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    aokoye wrote: »
    J72FIT wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    I think every fast food place should have a veggie burger. I don't understand how it doesn't just make business sense. (Yes I am a vegetarian but that isn't my point.) We don't prefer to eat fast food but when we are driving somewhere (husband and I) and we want to pick up something quick we would drive-thru at McDonald's IF they had a veggie burger for me to eat, while my husband eats his beef burger. But they don't. So we go to Harvey's.
    One vegetarian in a group of people that has to be fed can make the decision for where the whole group goes. I don't get why they don't all have a veggie burger option.

    I imagine the demand is not there yet. Believe me, if they thought there would be a profit they would.

    Also having separate areas to cook the veggie burgers will affect workflow.

    Any indication that they're cooking them separately? It doesn't seem as if most restaurants cook their vegetarian things separately from the meaty ones, even if that means a common grill surface for things like burgers.

    Burger King might not, but I wasn't referring to them specifically. There are definitely restaurants that do this, including some fast food restaurants that do this though.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,102 Member
    aokoye wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    aokoye wrote: »
    J72FIT wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    I think every fast food place should have a veggie burger. I don't understand how it doesn't just make business sense. (Yes I am a vegetarian but that isn't my point.) We don't prefer to eat fast food but when we are driving somewhere (husband and I) and we want to pick up something quick we would drive-thru at McDonald's IF they had a veggie burger for me to eat, while my husband eats his beef burger. But they don't. So we go to Harvey's.
    One vegetarian in a group of people that has to be fed can make the decision for where the whole group goes. I don't get why they don't all have a veggie burger option.

    I imagine the demand is not there yet. Believe me, if they thought there would be a profit they would.

    Also having separate areas to cook the veggie burgers will affect workflow.

    Any indication that they're cooking them separately? It doesn't seem as if most restaurants cook their vegetarian things separately from the meaty ones, even if that means a common grill surface for things like burgers.

    Burger King might not, but I wasn't referring to them specifically. There are definitely restaurants that do this, including some fast food restaurants that do this though.

    No evidence, but I wonder if that might be more common in your area (NW coast, urban, I think?) vs. mine (Great Lakes, mid-sized city).
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    aokoye wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    This came up on Twitter:

    The new recipe has 8g less protein but it is 31% of the DV of protein vs 27%. I haven't tried to figure out that math yet.


    Beats me who created this, but I just checked the BK site, and it doesn't seem to give the DV for protein (labels do not). If you google it you do get a feature (not sure where from, the address is google + search related terms) that shows a nutrition label, but the one for the Whopper (regular one) has 56% for protein. The DV for protein is apparently only 50 g.

    It's actually directly from their website (save for the circling of course). Here's the link.

    Thanks. Yeah, there's an error.

    It turns out there's not an error. First of all, in case anyone else was confused, the two panels aren't comparing the original whopper to the whopper with the Impossible Burger, but the new and old versions of the Impossible Burger. The old version of the Impossible Burger had 28 g of protein, but that protein was primarily a textured wheat protein source with soy protein added. Under the DV% for protein rules, you can't count the wheat protein toward the percentage DV (or at least must discount it -- I need to check the actual rules), due to the lack of lysine. Soy protein (the main source of protein in the new version) can be counted in full. That's why the percentage for the original version is actually lower than the new one.

    Impressive. Good detective skills.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    J72FIT wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    I think every fast food place should have a veggie burger. I don't understand how it doesn't just make business sense. (Yes I am a vegetarian but that isn't my point.) We don't prefer to eat fast food but when we are driving somewhere (husband and I) and we want to pick up something quick we would drive-thru at McDonald's IF they had a veggie burger for me to eat, while my husband eats his beef burger. But they don't. So we go to Harvey's.
    One vegetarian in a group of people that has to be fed can make the decision for where the whole group goes. I don't get why they don't all have a veggie burger option.

    I imagine the demand is not there yet. Believe me, if they thought there would be a profit they would.

    Yep, in places where vegetarian and vegan diets are more common, McDonald's already offers options for them. They're not doing it here yet, but they clearly aren't ideologically opposed to making money from it. When/if the market shifts more here, we'll probably see more options.

    Hmm. I am in Canada and supposedly 10% of us are vegetarian/vegan. I would think that would be enough to influence the market, but maybe not.
    There is an assumption (idk how true it is) that vegetarians are more health conscious. Maybe they wouldn't eat much at fast food places and that is why they don't cater to them.

    I am not sure what the tipping point is for larger chains, but my point was that if McDonald's is offering vegetarian options in India and parts of Europe, but not in the US/Canada, their own research is showing that the tipping point isn't there yet. Maybe the success of more recent offerings from other chains will help them realize the time has come (I hope so!).

    I think the general hope with burgers like the impossible burger and beyond burger, etc, is that they can draw some of the market share of meat eaters as well, to make it more viable. People who wouldn't want a normal veggie burger but would be willing to eat this. And combine them with vegetarians and you have a real market for it.

    I agree. There is a movement towards plant based foods right now that they are tapping into. It's a smart move.