Today Beyond Meat announced that it’s teaming up with Del Taco to “beef up” their menu.
The plant-based meat startup will launch two branded tacos: the Beyond Avocado Taco (which is vegan), and the Beyond Taco (which is just vegetarian). Judging from photos, they look like hard shell tacos with Beyond crumbles, lettuce, and tomatoes — the vegan option also has an avocado slice, while the vegetarian one has cheese. Customers can also sub Beyond Meat into any other Del Taco dishes (burritos, nachos, etc.). I wasn’t able to find any pricing information online, but as customers are allowed to swap in Beyond, I’m assuming that it’s on par with the meatier options.
This marks the plant-based meat company’s first partnership with a fast-food chain, and, according to Beyond Meat’s press release, it’s also the first time a Mexican fast-food restaurant will serve plant-based meat.
The announcement comes just a few weeks after Impossible Foods rolled out their vegan “bleeding” burgers to White Castles nationwide. It doesn’t take a genius to see that Beyond Meat, which typically markets itself directly to consumers in supermarket aisles, is now trying to establish itself as a strong player in the plant-based B2B market — for all price points.
While their products are already available in over 10,000 restaurants, their Del Taco launch is their first fast-food drive-through partnership in the U.S. (they’re already available in Canada’s A&W chain). We’ll see if the company can keep up with the high demand of quick service restaurants (QSRs), especially if they decide to offer Beyond Meat at all 564 Del Taco restaurants nationwide.
The Beyond Meat tacos will be available in two California Del Taco locations, one in Santa Monica and the other in Culver City. If you live in the area and are lucky enough to give them a taste, drop us a line and let us know about your experience!
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