Kentucky Fried... Not Chicken: Beyond Meat and KFC team up

KFC, that beloved fast food restaurant, favourite of hungover people the world over, is selling plant-based, meatless chicken — at least in one of its 22,000 locations worldwide.

Folks in Atlanta, Georgia — home of seminal rap group OutKast — are the first to try it, with the Cobb Parkway restaurant offering the Beyond Fried Chicken as part of an exclusive test, happening today.

It is thanks to a partnership between KFC and Beyond Meat, the NYSE-listed food company creating meat substitutes, a market estimated to be worth $13.6 billion by 2023.

Beyond Fried Chicken is available in nuggets or wings. Customer feedback from the Atlanta test will be considered as KFC evaluates a broader test or even a national rollout.

Ethan Brown, founder and CEO of Beyond Meat, said his only regret was the Colonel himself would not be around to see it happen.

“KFC is an iconic part of American culture and a brand that I, like so many consumers, grew up with. To be able to bring Beyond Fried Chicken, in all of its KFC-inspired deliciousness to market, speaks to our collective ability to meet the consumer where they are and accompany them on their journey,” he said.

Kevin Hochman, president and chief concept officer of KFC, reckons “KFC Beyond Fried Chicken is so delicious, our customers will find it difficult to tell that it’s plant-based.”

“I think we’ve all heard ‘it tastes like chicken’ – well our customers are going to be amazed and say, ‘it tastes like Kentucky Fried Chicken!'”

Just this week, Roots (ASX:ROO), a company known for an innovative crop-growing technology that can both heat or cool crops depending on the environment, announced its support of meatless meat with a deal to use its tech on high-protein beans and peas. The news sent its shares to a four-month high.