USA: KFC Is Testing Plant-Based Fried Chicken

The chicken-less chicken options are part of a collaboration with Beyond Meat

America’s “finger lickin’ good” chicken is going plant-based.

On Monday, Kentucky Fried Chicken announced that they have partnered with Beyond Meat, a Los Angeles-based producer of plant-based meat substitutes, to create a plant-based menu option for KFC customers — KFC Beyond Fried Chicken.

The vegan KFC menu option will be sold as chicken nuggets with a customer’s choice of dipping sauces, or boneless wings tossed in either Nashville Hot, Buffalo or Honey BBQ sauce.

Beyond Fried Chicken debuts on August 27, but will only be available in a limited test sample in one Atlanta, Georgia, location. Anyone who wants to try the plant-based KFC option can find it at the Cobb Parkway restaurant near SunTrust Park in Atlanta (2637 Cobb Pkwy South East, Smyrna, Ga.).

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

Customers can try it as a complimentary sample with a purchase of any other KFC menu item or can be purchased as one of the two meal options — until the test runs out.

The nuggets will be available in six or 12-piece combo meals for $6.49 and $8.49, or four-piece à la carte for $1.99. Boneless Beyond Fried Chicken wings can be purchased in six or 12-piece options for $6 and $12.

Beyond Meat was founded in 2009 and has introduced plant-based options across beef, pork and poultry products. Customer feedback from the Atlanta test will be considered when KFC evaluates bringing the plant-based option to other locations.

Plant-based alternatives to meat have been growing in popularity over the past few years, with Burger King, White Castle, Umami Burger, and more chain restaurants offering meatless patties from Beyond Meat’s competitor, Impossible Foods.

The California company even has its sights set on doing the same for seafood, according to a July report from the New York Times. The Times reported that Impossible has been working on developing alternatives to fish and other seafood through plant-based recipes or by growing cells in laboratories.