A&W adds another Beyond Meat option

A&W Canada is expanding its partnership with plant-based food company Beyond Meat, giving consumers looking for meat alternatives an option for earlier in the day.

Available in the QSR on March 11, the Beyond Meat Sausage & Egger is similar to A&W’s existing Sausage & Egger breakfast sandwich, except that it’s made with Beyond Meat’s vegan plant-based sausage. The breakfast patty is one of the newest products from Beyond Meat, having been announced at a food industry trade show in May.

Beyond Meat has entered the Canadian market with much gusto. On Monday, Mexican food chain Quesada also announced that it would launch a burrito made with Beyond Meat’s ground beef alternative. Steve Gill, founder and chief recipe officer at Quesada, specifically pointed to a growing number of “flexitarian” customers and a demand for more plant-based options as reasons for bringing the burrito to its menu.

The new A&W/Beyond Meat sandwich is served with a slice of cheddar cheese, meaning it isn’t strictly vegan-friendly. But with products promoted as being indistinguishable from real meat, Beyond Meat’s brand has been built around catering to anyone looking to eat more plant-based meals for environmental and/or health reasons. According to Beyond Meat, 93% of customers buying its products through grocery in the U.S. are also purchasing some kind of meat product.

Expanding its partnership with A&W also allows Beyond Meat to expose its brand to a wider audience than those who shop at specialty and health-focused grocers in the U.S., where it currently sells its products.

A&W first partnered with Beyond Meat last year when it brought the company’s already popular burger to its locations. Demand was high, and many of A&W’s 850 locations were sold out for weeks following the launch. It was also the first time a Beyond Meat product was made widely available in the Canadian market.