Beyond Meat has big plans to roll out the Beyond Burger range across 50 countries and six continents this summer, and now trade magazine, The Grocer, has announced that the Beyond Burger will be hitting UK supermarket shelves this August – just in time for summer BBQs! Manchester-based ready meal specialist The Authentic Food Co has finalised an exclusive deal to bring the US brand’s Beyond Burger to grocery and foodservice outlets in the UK by August. The plant-based patty will initially be sold in the frozen aisle and is due to be sold in Tesco supermarkets initially. The Authentic Food Co said detail on whether the burger would be sold alongside meat or with vegetarian and vegan meat alternatives was “still to be confirmed”. “The partnership is an exciting opportunity for us to bring our flagship product to consumers across the pond,” said Beyond Meat founder and CEO Ethan Brown The Beyond Burger has taken the world by storm with its meaty texture and taste, as well as the fact that it appears to ‘bleed’ when cooked thanks to the addition of beetroot to give the burger it’s pink colour. In the US, Beyond Burgers are stocked alongside meat products, in a bid to expand the vegetarian and vegan market to flexitarians and encourage them to swap animal meat for plant-based alternatives. A spokeswoman for the Vegan Society said: “Anything that gives more choice for people to eat vegan food is a positive move. Whereas sausages can be made both from animals and from plants and it’s a type of food many of us are used to, many vegans appreciate that people may simply want to have vegan versions of foods they grew up eating. “A number of vegans believe we should move away from the idea of imitating animal products and simply consume plant-based dishes. This is great in theory but, in reality, many people still want to indulge in fatty, satisfying foods. Having vegan alternatives to animal products gives vegans yet another argument as to why there really is no excuse not to be vegan. It comes down to individual preference of vegans as there is no animal use in either case.”
US vegan burger company Beyond Meat is to launch its Beyond Burger range globally this summer, and will put its plant-based burgers in The Vegan Society supermarkets through a deal with ready-meal firm The Authentic Food Co. In the US the product is sold alongside real meat in a bid to expand the vegetarian and vegan markets, but Authentic Food said details of how it will be sold in UK supermarkets had yet to be agreed. Tesco said that while some vegans believed the imitation of animal products should end, many people still wanted to “indulge in fatty, satisfying foods”.