On this day in vegan history · July 9, 2018
A&W Canada Puts the Beyond Burger on Every Menu at Once
A drive-in chain built on root beer and beef bet its fastest product launch ever on a pea-and-mung-bean patty, and rolled it out to every restaurant in the country on the same day.
The facts
- Deal announced
- June 21, 2018
- Nationwide launch
- July 9, 2018, at all 925+ A&W restaurants in Canada at once
- Patty
- 100% plant-based, made from peas and mung beans
- Standing at the time
- Beyond Meat's largest restaurant partner
On July 9, 2018, A&W Food Services of Canada put the Beyond Meat Burger on the menu at all of its more than 925 restaurants across the country simultaneously, making it the first national burger chain in Canada to sell it. A&W had announced the deal two and a half weeks earlier, on June 21, calling itself Beyond Meat's largest restaurant partner at the time. The patty was 100% plant-based, made from peas and mung beans, and dressed the same way as A&W's beef burgers: lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles, ketchup, mustard, and mayo. President and CEO Susan Senecal said the rollout moved faster than any new product A&W had launched before, and demand ran so high the chain sold out in some markets within days.
In their words
The day in the words of the people who were there. Every quote is verbatim, and every source links out so you can check it.
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We are a burger loving company with a lot of firsts, but this is the fastest new-product launch in our history.
Susan Senecal, A&W Canada President and CEO, in the company's announcement, June 21, 2018
Source: A&W Income Fund press release -
Our partnership with the iconic A&W brand is a tremendous step forward for Beyond Meat and, correspondingly, consumers who are seeking broader access to healthy and sustainable options for the center of the plate.
Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat Founder and CEO, in the same announcement, June 21, 2018
Source: A&W Income Fund press release
Why it still matters
It was the first time a national fast-food burger chain put a plant-based patty on every menu on day one instead of trialing it market by market, and it showed a mainstream, meat-first chain that the demand was real. Burger King and White Castle followed with their own plant-based burgers within a year.
Sources
This history is still being written.
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