Are Consumers Losing Appetite For Plant-Based Meat Products? Here's What Burger King Is Saying About The Latest Trends

In 2019, Burger King became the first fast-food chain to offer alternative meat products. Just four years later, the company is taking a step back from its plant-based meats initiative.

What To Know: Burger King parent company Restaurant Brands International Inc QSR doesn't plan to expand its plant-based meat offerings in the near term, according to a Bloomberg report.

CEO Josh Kobza recently said demand for plant-based alternatives was stable, but noted alternative meats were "not a big part of the current focus" for the restaurant chain.

The Restaurant Brands chief said the products were selling better internationally than in the U.S., but there hadn't been much of a change in broader trends, which appeared to be weak.

Burger King got its plant-based meats for U.S. markets from Impossible Foods. The company used other suppliers for European markets due to stricter genetically modified ingredients rules. 

One of the most common names in the space, Beyond Meat Inc BYND, reported third-quarter earnings last week, which showed demand for its products was declining. 

Third-quarter revenues were impacted by weak sales volumes in the U.S., lower than anticipated promotional effectiveness and weaker sales of core products including Beyond Burger, Beyond Beef and Beyond Sausage. The company also revised its full-year outlook lower for the second time in the last three months. 

The Bloomberg report indicated that firms tracking market data reported declining sales across the entire plant-based foods category. 

Overall, Restaurant Brands' sales growth came in slightly below analyst forecasts in its most recent quarter, but Burger King revenues jumped 9.6% and comparable sales climbed 7.2% year-over-year. 

Kobza said Burger King planned to focus on "core" elements like flame-grilled burgers in the U.S. for the time being. 

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QSR Price Action: Restaurant Brands shares were down 2.65% at $66.01 at the time of publication Monday, per Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Courtesy of Burger King.