Burger King® and Nestle have both revealed plans to release plant-based burgers across Europe and the U.S this year.

The ‘Impossible’ Whopper, the name of Burger King’s plant-based burger, consists of a plant-based patty topped with tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles, and sliced white onions on a sesame seed bun.

Burger King insists the alternative tastes ‘as good as the real thing’. (photo credit: Burger King)

The meatless burger, developed with Impossible Foods, a California-based company that makes plant-based substitutes, is designed to ‘bleed’ like a conventional burger, and uses genetically modified yeast to produce heme, a protein that allegedly mimics the flavour of meat.

Burger King insists the new vegan alternative tastes ‘as good as the real thing’. The Impossible Foods patty will cost around $1 (77p) more than a regular meat version and carries 17g of protein.

In 2018 a survey by Faunalytics, suggests that 65% of consumers would still stick with the beef option, 21% would choose a plant-based burger like Impossible, and 11% would select a cultured burger grown from animal cells, which isn’t expected on the market until the early 2020s.

Pat Brown, chief executive of Impossible Foods said: “We’re now in well over 6,000 restaurants. If the Burger King launch is as successful as I expect it to be, and we go nationwide, that will add more than 7,000 restaurants that serve the Impossible Burger.”

Nestle meatless burger

Nestle has also joined in with the meat-free product launches seen recently and has unveiled plans to introduce a plant-based burger across Europe and the U.S this year.

The Garden Gourmet ‘Incredible Burger’ will launch in Europe this month, first coming to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

The Nestle product includes protein from soy and wheat. (photo credit: Nestle)

Wayne England, the head of Nestlé’s food business, said: “These new burgers do not compromise on flavour, texture and cooking experience. They underline Nestlé’s increased focus on tasty, authentic plant-based food.

“We believe this trend is here to stay, as consumers look at different ways to enjoy and balance their protein intake and lower the environmental footprint of their diets.”

The Nestle product includes protein from soy and wheat, and extracts of beetroot, carrot and bell peppers to help make it look like meat.

The Nestle announcement came only the day after Burger King confirmed it will start a test run of meatless burgers using patties from Impossible Foods.