Move over, chicken in a basket. Marston’s is to become the first national pub chain to put the UK’s first meatless “bleeding” burgers on its menus, as part of a £1m deal announced on Tuesday.
The so-called B12 Burger, which sizzles, smells, tastes and bleeds like meat but is completely plant-based, will go on sale on Wednesday in the chain’s 413 dedicated food pubs.
The move comes as manufacturers, supermarkets and restaurants scramble to tap into the burgeoning vegan market, which has expanded as more Britons drop meat from their diet for health or ethical reasons. The UK has an estimated 22 million “flexitarians” – those who enjoy meat but want to reduce their consumption. Over a quarter (28%) of meat-eating Britons have reduced their meat consumption in the last six months, according to Mintel.
The product – launched earlier this year in selected UK restaurants – was created by the British company Moving Mountains after three years of development with a team of leading scientists, chefs and farmers and more than 200 test recipes.
Each burger contains 18g of plant protein and uses natural ingredients to make the burger replicate animal meat. It features oyster mushrooms, pea protein, oats, Vitamin B12 and beetroot juice to make it appear to bleed.
“We have listened to our customers and taken the growing demand for healthier and alternative options across the pub sector as a great opportunity to develop and update our menu,” said Nicola Arrow, Marston’s senior food development manager. “The Moving Mountains B12 Burger not only caters to our vegetarian and vegan customers but also to those who are trying to make more conscious health or ethical choices when eating out.”
Meanwhile, the UK supermarket debut of a rival product from cult US brand Beyond Meat has been put on hold indefinitely, after the company admitted it would struggle to meet demand.
Beyond Burger – the company’s flagship vegan-friendly product which sold out after its May 2016 launch in the US – was supposed to go on sale in 350 branches of Tesco in August. But huge demand in the US put pressure on its supplies to the UK.
“We’re seeing much higher than expected demand for the Beyond Burger in the US, and even in the few places where we’ve placed it in the UK demand is higher than expected,” Beyond Meat’s executive chairman Seth Goldman said. “We are taking steps to ensure that when we do launch, we will have enough product to keep the shelves full.”
