When Veggie Is The New Normal And Meat-based Is An Option

Yes, you heard that right!

Fast-food chain Burger King is normalising vegan food in Austria with its latest campaign called “Meat Option”.

The idea of the campaign is to make plant-based meat dishes regular while offering traditional meat items as an option. Burger King staff is asking customers who order burgers if they want “regular or meat-based?” surprising the customers.

The chain filmed the first customers’ reactions as a part of the campaign. Some of them were confused, but many reacted in a positive way to the idea of plant-based meat being the new norm. (Watch the video here!)

Jan-Christoph Küster, Chief Marketing Officer of the TQSR Group, the Austrian franchisee of the Burger King brand, said in the statement: “With this question, we want to stimulate the social debate and show that our plant-based alternatives have a confusing taste, meat is one option, but it is not the only one. We leave it open to our guests what is normal for them: everyone should have the same taste.”

“At Burger King, we are making meatless indulgence a permanent fixture on our menu, because meat no longer comes naturally to everyone,” said Küster.

“With the provocative question ‘Normal or meat?’ we want to show that we take our customers and their needs seriously. Because from now on, we also serve almost our entire range as plant-based.” 

For the last couple of years, Burger King has been adding meat-free options to its menu in restaurants around the world.

For the first time, the chain transformed one site located in Cologne, Germany into a totally plant-based restaurant exploring customers' reactions to fully vegan and vegetarian menu. Later, Burger King has also opened similar restaurants in Chile, Spain, Chile, Switzerland, and the UK.

In London, Burger King transformed its main Leicester Square site into a fully vegan restaurant for a month. The menu included plant-based versions of the popular burger sandwiches, vegan chicken nuggets, vegan bacon double cheeseburgers, vegan cheese bites, and two vegan Katsu options: Royale and Chilli Whopper. 

Last year, the company also announced its commitments to focus on vegan and plant-based innovation and making its menu 50-percent plant-based by 2030.