Beyond Meat turns first profitable quarter, Denny’s launches plant-based burger

30 Oct 2019 --- In response to growing interest in plant-based dining and flexitarian diets, US diner-style restaurant chain Denny’s has partnered with Beyond Meat to launch the Denny’s Beyond Burger. The move marks the chain’s first alternative protein option and comes at the heels of the chain’s recent rebranding. Initially, the burger will be at all Los Angeles area Denny’s locations and is expected to be rolled out nationwide within 2020. The launch comes as Beyond Meat reports its third-quarter financial results with net revenues increasing 250 percent to US$92 million.

Gross profit was US$32.8 million, or 35.6 percent of net revenues, compared to gross profit of US$5 million, or 19.2 percent of net revenues, in the year-ago period. Net income increased to US$4.1 million or US$0.06 earnings per diluted share and the company has raised its full-year 2019 outlook.

“We are very pleased with our third-quarter results which reflect continued momentum across our business and mark an important milestone as we achieved our first-ever quarter of net income,” says Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat’s President and CEO. “We remain focused on expanding our distribution footprint, both domestically and abroad, building our brand, introducing new innovative products into the marketplace, and bolstering our infrastructure and internal capabilities to fuel our future growth.”

The Denny’s launch features a 100 percent plant-based Beyond Burger patty topped with freshly sliced tomatoes and onions, crisp lettuce, pickles, cheese and sauce.

“As a company we strive to evolve with the tastes and demands of our customers and we knew finding a plant-based option that met our standards and taste expectations was critical in staying at the top of our game,” says John Dillon, Chief Brand Officer for Denny’s.

Working to meet shifting consumer tastes, the new Denny's Beyond Burger delivers high-quality ingredients and more outstanding variety for guests.

Plant-based fast food surges on
Globally, the sphere of plant-based innovation is heating up with heavyweight foodservice giants taking notice of the ample opportunities within this space. Innova Market Insights data reports 14 percent of global meat launches in 2018 being meat alternatives, compared to 6 percent in 2013.

Earlier this month, Dunkin’ announced plans for the US rollout of its Beyond Sausage Sandwich following a successful pilot in Manhattan where it quickly became one of the top-selling sandwiches. The move makes Dunkin’ the first nationwide US quick service restaurant (QSR) brand to “go beyond” traditional on-the-go breakfast choices by the serving Beyond Breakfast Sausage which features Beyond Meat’s breakfast sausage patty made with 100 percent plant-based protein and a mix of spices crafted specifically for Dunkin’.

Also this month, Burger King’s unveiling of The Impossible Whopper was found to be driving traffic to the fast-food chain, according to Barclays analysts. In April, Burger King became a non-meat platform pioneer, testing the Impossible Whopper in 59 St. Louis restaurants before rolling out the meatless burger across US restaurants in August. Now, Barclays data teams have analyzed geolocation data to assess the impact surrounding the test and the national launch.

In August, global meal kit delivery service HelloFresh announced the September rollout of the Beyond Burger as part of its premium Craft Burger menu items. The Beyond Burger patty is marketed as having less total and saturated fat than a regular beef burger made with a ratio of 20 percent fat to 80 percent lean meat. It is also designed to “look, cook, and satisfy like beef,” while being made without GMOs, soy or gluten. The Beyond Burger has 20g of plant protein derived from a blend of peas, mung beans and brown rice.

Also in August, fast food sandwich chain Subway entered a new culinary innovation partnership with Beyond Meat to test the Beyond Meatball Marinara sub in 685 participating restaurants in Canada and the US in September. The new Beyond Meatball Marinara takes its inspiration from the brand's classic sandwich but with a plant-based twist.

Similarly, Beyond Meat partnered with Carl’s Jr. earlier this year in launching a plant-based burger, The Beyond Famous Star, to keep pace with the growing appetite for flexitarian food.

By Benjamin Ferrer, additional reporting by Gaynor Selby