Burger chain Wendy’s has set out to meet what it says is now an “expectation” in the Canadian quick-service dining sector, with a new pulse crop-based burger.
The U.S. chain’s Canadian arm on Thursday announced it has launched a plant-based burger it calls the Plantiful at its 380-plus Canadian stores, using a patty it described as a “pea-based protein.”
A company representative said the patty recipe was “crafted in-house by the Wendy’s Canada team, alongside an established Canadian supplier,” but didn’t name that supplier.
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The in-house development is “a feat that no other competitor has accomplished for plant-based burgers in the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry,” Wendy’s said — a reference to other plant-based burger patties sourced from meat-substitute makers such as Beyond Meat and Lightlife.
“Plant-based product offerings have become an expectation of Canadian consumers,” Lisa Deletroz, senior marketing director for Wendy’s Canada, said in the company’s release Thursday.
“No one does food like Wendy’s, and the idea of offering the same product as other competitors was simply not an option for the Wendy’s Canada team.”
In a separate menu expansion south of the border, Ohio-based Wendy’s in early February announced a March 2 national launch for a breakfast menu in its U.S. stores.
Items are to include a bacon-and-egg Breakfast Baconator sandwich and Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit, among others.
Quick-service chains’ recent entries into the breakfast market have been credited with spurring new demand for ingredients such as fresh eggs.
Some chains have also adopted an all-day breakfast menu, which in turn has raised concerns that the cheaper breakfast items may siphon off demand from those same chains’ higher-priced, higher-margin burgers and other dinner items.
The representative for Wendy’s Canada said Friday via email it’s “excited about the nationwide breakfast launch in the U.S., but there are no plans to roll this out in Canada at this time.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network
