Pizza Hut launches Beyond Meat sausage topping in the United States

Pizza Hut adds Beyond Meat’s meatless sausage to its American menu.

Starting Tuesday, customers of the Yum Brands pizza chain can order the Beyond Italian Sausage pizza or the Great Beyond Pizza. The primary source of protein in Beyond Meatless Sausages is from peas, rather than animals.

The coronavirus pandemic has revived the late American activity of Pizza Hut. Customers who viewed the chain as an eatery turned to ordering its pizza rather than delivery or takeout, accelerating Pizza Hut’s turnaround efforts. In the third quarter, Pizza Hut’s US business recorded same-store sales growth of 6%, and its off-site operations recorded same-store sales growth of 17%.

Beyond Meat, on the other hand, has been battered by the pandemic. In the third quarter, its foodservice segment, which includes sales to restaurants, office buildings and college campuses, saw sales decline 11%. But new partnerships could help boost this aspect of its activities. The company said Monday it has co-created a meatless patty for McDonald’s upcoming McPlant line.

Yum Brands and Beyond Meat already have an established partnership. Yum China began selling the meat substitute maker’s products at Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut restaurants over the summer. And Pizza Hut restaurants in Puerto Rico and the UK also sell meatless sausages.

Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown said in an interview that Pizza Hut lobbied for an indistinguishable substitute for meat-based sausage.

“We really wanted to build something unique in the market,” he said. “A lot of people can make a protein crumble these days, but it’s something special because we’ve taken the time with Pizza Hut to get it right.”

Pizza Hut has already tested a pizza made with a meat substitute made by Kellogg. The test took place at a single restaurant in Arizona over a year ago.

“What we learned from this test is that there are a lot of people out there who really want plant-based meat, and there is a huge appetite for this type of product,” said David Graves. , Brand Director of Pizza Hut US

Little Caesars, which is a private company, also tested a meatless sausage pizza. He used a substitute for Impossible Foods rival Beyond.

Yum shares, with a market value of nearly $ 31 billion, have risen 1% so far this year. Beyond stock, which has a market value of over $ 9 billion, had more than doubled in value in 2020, as of Monday’s close. But Beyond’s stock fell sharply on Monday on the extended stock market.