Dunkin' Donuts Joins Beyond Meat Craze

(RTTNews) - Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. (DKN) Wednesday announced it will be offering plant-based sausages from Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND) at its restaurants in the U.S., joining the craze for the plant-based meat alternative.

The coffee chain will now offer the Beyond Sausage Breakfast Sandwich, starting with locations in Manhattan. The company plans to roll out the new menu offering nationwide in the future. Dunkin' is the first U.S. restaurant brand that will serve Beyond Meat's sausage to its menu.

Dave Hoffmann, CEO of Dunkin' Brands and President of Dunkin' U.S., said, "Beyond Meat has earned the national spotlight for its innovative products and for creating incredible awareness and excitement for the benefits of plant-based meat. Dunkin' has always stood apart for offering new and exciting choices to meet the needs of our on-the-go guests, and we are proud to collaborate with this industry leader to become the first U.S. restaurant chain to serve a Beyond Breakfast Sausage option."

Recently, Canadian coffee giant Tim Hortons, a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (QSR, QSR.TO), launched breakfast sandwiches made with the plant-based meat substitute at its nearly 4,000 restaurants in Canada.

The Canadian coffee chain will offer customers three new breakfast sandwich options made with the 100 percent plant-based Beyond Meat Breakfast Sausage patty.

Strong demand for vegan options have forced restaurants to offer menu items that contain products from Beyond Meat and its competitor Impossible Foods. The U.S. market for meat substitutes reached $1.44 billion in 2018, according to Euromonitor data.

Burger King, which is also owned by Restaurant Brands International, said in May that it has expanded the roll-out of its plant-based Impossible Whopper sandwich to three new cities in addition to its first city, St Louis.

The Impossible Whopper is a plant-based version of Burger King's Whopper Sandwich that uses an Impossible Burger for its patties. Redwood City, California-based food startup Impossible Foods is the maker of the Impossible Burger.

Shares of BYND is currently trading at $203.62, up $8.14 or 4.17%, on Nasdaq.