Zus Coffee, now Malaysia’s largest coffee chain, has launched a vegan menu with Southeast Asian plant-based meat startup Green Rebel Foods at over 200 locations.
With a fifth of Malaysians looking to cut back on meat, its largest coffee chain is leaning into that wish with a collaboration with Green Rebel Foods.
Zus Coffee has introduced a vegan ready-to-eat menu using the Indonesian startup’s meat alternatives at over 200 locations in the states of Terengganu, Kelantan and Pahang.
It’s a marriage of two tech-driven startups in Southeast Asia, blending local flavours with food innovation to help Malaysians meet their health goals while lowering their impact on the environment.
Green Rebel bets on Zus Coffee’s growing popularity
Courtesy: Green Rebel Foods
The menu comprises ready-to-eat products that consumers can eat in-store or take home. It spotlights Green Rebel’s mushroom and soy protein, which is the star of all three dishes: a nasi rendang padang, a rendang spaghetti, and a creamy mushroom and truffle pasta, with the latter featuring the brand’s dairy-free cheese.
Its signature meat-free protein solutions are made from the proprietary Rebel Emulsion Technology, which helps recreate the mouthfeel of animal protein via an emulsion of coconut oil, water, and natural plant-based seasonings. The mushroom and soy are mixed with cassava flour, rice flour,r and whole oats.
“We’re proud to partner with a forward-thinking brand like Zus Coffee,” said Max Mandias, co-founder and chief innovation officer of Green Rebel. “Together, we’re not just serving great food, but we’re redefining how Southeast Asians enjoy our cultural dishes while caring for the planet.”
Zus Coffee was founded in 2019 and has grown exponentially with its tech-led approach to specialty coffee. It has highly digitalised operations and had a companion app at launch to facilitate online ordering, takeaway and delivery.
The company collects data on consumers’ tastes and preferences too, using the insights to create new products and improve existing ones. While the uptake of its cashless payment and online ordering approach was slow at first, Covid-19 popularised these soon after.
Zus Coffee has since gone from strength to strength, on the back of an aggressive expansion strategy that has seen its locations jump past 3,300, surpassing even Starbucks. The company has been keen to lower its climate footprint, using biodegradable rice straws, and now with the plant-based menu.
Courtesy: Green Rebel Foods
Malaysia is hungry for plant proteins
The partnership comes as awareness about plant-based food grows in Malaysia. A survey by the Good Food Institute (GFI) APAC last year found that 89% of locals have heard of meat alternatives. That said, less than a fifth (19%) eat it regularly or once a month.
At the same time, 21% of Malaysians said they were looking to limit their meat intake in the upcoming year, with beef (24%) and lamb, pork and mutton (27%) overindexing. For these consumers – as is the case in other Asian countries – health is the biggest driver of this consumption trend, with the top three reasons cited as better cardiovascular health, weight loss, and improved digestion.
This is confirmed by a separate poll by GlobalData from December 2023, where 59% of Malaysians said plant-based meat alternatives are healthier than their conventional counterparts.
The GFI APAC survey also revealed that 66% of Malaysians who had never tried plant-based meat intended to do so in the coming year, while 43% of those who had wanted to increase their intake. And for 40% of consumers, restaurants were the most common way to be introduced to these products, a finding Green Rebel’s partnership with Zus Coffee aligns with well.
Courtesy: Green Rebel Foods
The plant-based meat maker, which has worked with Starbucks in Malaysia before, has been expanding its presence across the region. It recently entered 7-Eleven Philippines as part of in-store dishes and with on-shelf products.
Further, it has commercial partnerships with AirAsia, Tous Le Jours, NTUC FairPrice and Annam Gourmet, with its products available in over 1,200 foodservice locations and more than 300 retail stores across Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia.
In other plant-based news from Malaysia, Pure Mylk has opened the region’s first dedicated innovation centre for non-dairy milk, featuring R&D labs, sensory testing rooms, a showroom, a training centre, and a full-scale pilot plant for manufacturers.
Diner-style chain Denny’s has rolled out a Plant-Based Breakfast Slam at all its locations in the US, bucking the trend of the wider restaurant industry.
Denny’s has reiterated its commitment to plant-based food with a new dairy- and egg-free pancake breakfast option.
The 24-hour diner-style chain has unveiled the Plant-Based Breakfast Slam at all its 1,311 locations across the US, swapping out the eggs for flax seeds. It comprises two multigrain pancakes featuring cinnamon and brown sugar served with maple syrup, vegan hash browns, and seasonal fruit. The dish starts at $11.99
It comes during a time when many US restaurant chains are shying away from plant-based options, citing unsatisfactory flavour and texture, and falling demand.
Denny’s breakfast move reignites the plant-based vs vegan debate
Courtesy: Instagram
While the dish should appear to plant-based customers, Denny’s has distanced itself from the ‘vegan’ tag.
“The Plant-Based Pancake Slam is not vegan because it is prepared in the same facility with non-vegan items,” the company wrote on an Instagram post by animal rights group PETA.
The debate around plant-based products being cooked with the same equipment as meat isn’t new. The cross-contamination question was brought into wider focus when Burger King first launched its Impossible Whopper in 2019, which was cooked on the same grill as beef but marketed as vegan. That led to a lawsuit that was later dismissed by a judge.
For what it’s worth, PETA has long held the stance that vegans shouldn’t demand that chains use separate equipment. “We urge vegans not to insist that their food be cooked on equipment separate from that used to cook meat; doing so doesn’t help any additional animals, and it only makes restaurants less inclined to offer vegan choices (which, again, hurts animals),” it tweeted in 2020.
That’s consistent with its response to Denny’s comment, which read: “The Plant-Based Pancake Slam is still vegan – no animal products are used. Being made in the same facility doesn’t change that, as it doesn’t involve harming animals.”
Denny’s decision is a win amid slowing foodservice sales for plant-based food
This isn’t the first plant-based item at Denny’s, but given that it’s an animal-free version of a core offering, it’s a big move for the chain’s favorability with plant-based and flexitarian audiences.
Some sides and breakfast items – such as the English muffins, sautéed zucchini and squash, and red-skinned potatoes – are automatically vegan, while others can be modified (the grits, for example, can be cooked in water instead of milk).
For mains, customers can create their own burger with a veggie patty and customised toppings. Denny’s previously teamed up with Beyond Meat for the plant-based burger before switching to Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Patty.
By adding a vegan pancake offering, Denny’s is going against the industry trend– many of its peers have withdrawn plant-based menu options over the last few years. McDonald’s infamously doesn’t serve the McPlant (featuring the Beyond Burger) in the US anymore, while Carl’s Jr and Del Taco have both removed Beyond Meat from their menus too.
In the US, 24% of consumers are cutting back on meat this year, but enthusiasm for plant-based alternatives remains low – here’s why.
Americans may have spent more on meat last year than ever before, but nearly a quarter (24%) of them are limiting their intake this year.
While this share is lower than the 29% who were cutting out meat in 2022, it still represents a two-point increase from 2024. The shift is being led by women, baby boomers, and low-income Americans, according to a survey of over 1,500 consumers.
In a report published in collaboration with the Culinary Institute of America, Food for Climate League, and the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative, research firm Dataessential found that men, Gen Zers and millennials are among the demographics least likely to put less beef on their plates.
Courtesy: Dataessential
While interest in plant-based eating remains, it has largely dipped from 2023 levels. Only 19% will intentionally choose animal-free dishes when dining out this year (versus 27% in 2023), for example. Instead, the focus is more on reduction over complete replacement – 37% of Americans plan to order meat dishes mixed with plants from restaurants (think a burger made from beef and mushrooms).
People are also much more likely to order meals with whole ingredients like beans and legumes (28%) than those with vegan meat alternatives (17%), though both these options are less appealing than they were two years ago.
“Consumers overwhelmingly trust whole foods – nuts, legumes, and grains – over processed plant-based meat alternatives,” the 2025 edition of the Plant-Forward Opportunity report reads. And while red meat is losing ground, animal protein sources are still rated by most Americans as “the highest-quality sources of protein”.
Plant proteins low on Americans’ priority list
Courtesy: Dataessential
The research shows that Americans are enamoured by protein, especially poultry, which is consumed by 90% of the population. Dairy and eggs aren’t far behind, while red meat intake is also high at 86%. In contrast, the most consumed plant-based protein sources are nuts and seeds (77%), followed by whole grains (62%) and legumes (57%).
Plant-based meat is way down the list, with only 23% of Americans eating products like the Impossible Burger. Even fewer (21%) eat tofu and tempeh, and seitan is at the bottom of the list, appearing on the table of only one in eight Americans.
Men are significantly more likely to be eating red meat and protein supplements, but also vegan meat alternatives and tofu. Plant proteins are most appealing to millennials, but Gen Z is the least likely generation to regularly consume poultry, seafood, legumes, nuts, or meat analogues.
Interestingly, those who limit meat are really only cutting back on red meat. And here, too, plant-based foods are much less popular than animal protein. Around 60% of meat reducers eat tofu, tempeh and meat alternatives at least weekly, compared to 86% who say the same for poultry.
There’s one simple reason for this: Americans think animal proteins are the best way to pump up their macros. Between 85% and 90% rate beef, eggs and chicken as high-quality protein sources, much higher than tofu (41%) and plant-based meat (36%).
The data highlights a gap in consumer education here, given that many Americans have a “misguided” perception that vegetables contain more protein than whole grains, legumes, soy, and meat analogues.
Familiarity and taste the biggest plant-based opportunities for restaurants
Courtesy: Dataessential
According to Dataessential, many consumers still hesitate to order plant-forward meals at restaurants. And while there are a number of roadblocks, by far, how they taste is at the top of the list, with 45% of Americans dissatisfied with the flavour of such dishes.
Satiety is also high on the list, as 28% report feeling hungry just two to three hours later. A similar share of diners (27%) don’t think vegetables and plant-based ingredients are worth the money they pay. For a quarter of consumers, not getting enough protein was a major concern too.
Meanwhile, around one in five feel plant-based foods are too processed and that restaurants don’t have enough exciting meat-free options.
“Among consumers who do express some level of concern about plant-based restaurant dining, boomers are held back primarily on the taste of plant-based offerings, while Gen Z and millennials are more likely to express a wider variety of concerns, from protein content and energy provision to cost and visual appeal,” the report states. That said, younger consumers are also the most open to being swayed, as there are many strategies to do so.
Courtesy: Dataessential
Restaurants that highlight familiar flavours or offer samples of plant-forward dishes stand to gain the most ground, as these would sway 44% and 38% of consumers, respectively. Likewise, 30% of Americans would try these options if they were in dishes they know or love, or in a familiar format (like pizzas, sandwiches or burritos).
If they knew all the ingredients, or if the ingredients used were simple, a quarter would find plant-based dishes on the menu appealing. Cost is another factor, especially relative to animal proteins – 21% of Americans would choose plant-forward meals if they’re cheaper or offered at a discount to meat-based dishes. However, its importance is down by five points compared to 2023.
“While craveable, well-loved flavours remain the most effective way to drive plant-forward ordering, consumers in 2025 are increasingly motivated by value and service-driven strategies – and less by sustainability or local sourcing messages compared to 2023,” the report suggests.
“Operators should instead highlight what diners gain from choosing plant-forward options – whether it’s added value through combos and meal deals, familiar and satisfying formats like pizza or burritos, or trusted cues like chef and server recommendations. The key is to make plant-forward feel like the better, more exciting choice, not just the cheapest one,” it adds.
At all 600 Novotel hotels, Accor Group has pledged to ban 350 endangered fish species as part of its responsible seafood policy, and set a goal to make menus more plant-forward.
One of the world’s largest hotel chains has made two major climate commitments that will clean up its food supply and help lower its guests’ dietary footprints.
Novotel, part of the Accor Group, has unveiled a Plant-Forward goal across its 600 hotels worldwide. Under this ambition, it will make at least a quarter of the dishes on all menus meat-free by 2026. Currently, nearly two in five of its hotels dedicate 25% or more of their menus to plant-forward options.
In addition, the company has committed to removing 350 endangered seafood species from its menus and promoting responsible fishing by 2027, in collaboration with WWF France.
Novotel takes on seafood sustainability
Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort
“We’re committed to making it easier to make choices that have a positive impact on the longevity of the planet, on marine life, and on future generations,” said Jean-Yves Minet, global brand president for Novotel. “From responsible sourcing to a Plant-Forward approach, our ocean impact strategy is designed to drive real change.”
Minet called WWF France the “driving force” behind the seafood commitment. It has been working with the conservation organisation since June 2024, taking measures to champion sustainable seafood sourcing and ocean restoration projects via science-based action and investment.
The new Sustainable Seafood Principles include the species ban, serving only Marine Stewardship Council-certified wild-caught or responsibly sourced local fish, and using only organic or Aquaculture Stewardship Council-certified farmed salmon and shrimp.
WWF France’s fishery experts have created a gibel training programme for Novotel chefs, food and procurement teams, and are working with Accor Group to improve traceability. Further, the hotel group has created two games to educate visiting families about ocean conservation and the threats faced during turtle migration.
Faced with the growing threats of overfishing, pollution and loss of biodiversity, economic players have a key role to play,” said WWF France’s ocean programme manager, Ludovic Frère Escoffier. “By collaborating with influential companies in the tourism sector, together we are accelerating the transition to more sustainable, responsible practices that are compatible with ocean resilience.”
The seafood industry is marred by overfishing, microplastic pollution, and disease outbreaks. It’s a major contributor to climate change, which in turn has a highly negative impact on the sector. Nearly 90% of the world’s fish stocks are now 80% of the planet’s fisheries have been fully exploited, over-exploited or depleted, according to the UN FAO.
One study suggests that we could be heading towards a complete collapse of ocean life by 2048, driven primarily by overfishing for human consumption, as well as marine pollution and climate change.
Consumers are taking note. A 2024 survey by the Marine Stewardship Council found that 30% of people had been eating less seafood in the last two years, with 48% concerned about overfishing and 35% worried about climate change impacts. At the same time, over 80% of people had changed their dietary habits in this period, and 43% are doing so for sustainability reasons.
Plant-based policies are a critical lever of dietary shifts
Courtesy: Our World in Data
Novotel’s ‘protein split’ commitment ties well into these consumption trends. The company pointed to the growing global flexitarian population and the sheer difference in climate impact between meat and plants as the reasons behind the move.
Meat emits 50 times more carbon than vegetables, and producing a kg of meat needs up to 50 times more water too, the company noted. Novotel is working with its chef network and plant-based experts to develop innovative meat-free dishes, including Instagram influencer Alfie Steiner.
“People don’t always choose the most sustainable option – and that’s simply part of human nature,” said Minet. “Our mission is to make the better choice the easy one, by serving food that’s not only more sustainable, but also irresistibly delicious, nourishing, and deeply satisfying.”
That hits the nail on the head: bringing along dietary shifts has been tough work for stakeholders, despite everything at stake. The food system is at risk of collapse as things stand. It is simply not sustainable to produce food the way we do right now when the world population approaches 10 billion in 2050.
Initiatives that make more plant-based options available and accessible make it easier for consumers to adopt meat-free eating. It is one of the most effective ways for foodservice operators to promote dietary shifts, according to the World Resources Institute.
Courtesy: Oshi
One of the organisation’s recommendations is to introduce more plant-based alternatives to dining menus. While Novotel’s commitment doesn’t mention seafood analogues, it could follow the lead of fellow hotel giant Four Seasons, which put Oshi’s vegan whole-cut salmon on the menu at MKT Restaurant and Bar in San Francisco.
It could help bring about a much-needed sea change for the alternative seafood category, which only makes up 1% of the overall seafood market, and a similar share of the plant-based alternatives industry.
Novotel’s plant-forward move mirrors a wider shift in the hospitality industry. Accor Group itself has pledged to have 50% meat-free menus by the end of the decade at all its hotels, as part of its Good Food Feels Great policy.
It’s also one of 11 hotel groups that received an A+ rating for plant-based policy commitments in China, alongside IHG, Marriott, Dossen Group, Langham Hospitality, and more. There has been a broader trend of sustainable sourcing in Asia’s hospitality industry, where over 175 businesses have committed to improving their sourcing policies in light of sustainability and animal welfare since 2022.
Lebanese fast-casual chain Malak Al Tawouk has partnered with plant-based meat brand Switch Foods to add vegan chicken items to its UAE menu.
Malak Al Tawouk, a 30-year-old fast-casual chain with dozens of restaurants globally, is now offering Switch Foods’s vegan chicken at its UAE sites, at a time when plant-based eating becomes more popular in the region.
The chain is using the pea-protein-based, fibre-rich alternative in a shawarma sandwich, as well as a Mexican-inspired chicken salad and a teriyaki chicken rice bowl. They’re part of its drive to offer health-forward options, given that healthy food now makes up about half of its sales in the UAE.
The partnership leans into a key consumer complaint. While Emiratis’ appetite for vegan food is growing, nearly two in five say it’s difficult to find locally inspired plant-based cuisine, and another 20% feel meat alternatives have limited availability in the GCC.
Malak Al Tawouk leans into consumer trends in the UAE
Courtesy: Malak Al Tawouk
“Whether it’s health-conscious, environmental concerns, or simply a desire to reduce meat consumption, more people, especially the younger generation, are leaning towards flexitarian lifestyles,” said Mahmoud Harb, co-founder and managing director of Yummy Junction, the UAE franchise owner of Malak Al Tawouk.
Poultry, specifically chicken, is the most common type of meat consumed in the GCC, where per capita consumption is highest in the UAE (nearly twice as much as the global average). Population growth, increased consumer spending, and a thriving tourism sector are expected to cause a 6% rise in chicken consumption in the UAE and a 17% increase in production this year, according to the USDA.
At the same time, however, awareness about vegan alternatives is high in the UAE, rising to 94% in 2023. Today, 15% of Emiratis want to cut back on meat, primarily for health reasons. And half of these consumers are most interested in reducing meat consumption when dining out or eating fast food.
Among this segment, 26% want to replace meat with plant-based analogues. However, health is not the only driver for meat-free food consumption in the country. A third of consumers say taste is the most important factor, while 19% are influenced by word of mouth, and 13% by cost.
That said, a separate survey shows that over a quarter (27%) of Emiratis are happy to pay a premium for plant-based food. “We believe it’s the right time for a leading brand like ours to introduce a plant-based chicken alternative that delivers on both taste and quality,” said Harb.
Switch Foods continues foodservice expansion
Courtesy: Malak Al Tawouk
Switch Foods’s vegan chicken, produced in a 20,000 sq ft factory in Abu Dhabi, is available at all seven Malak Al Tawouk locations in the UAE, as well as its menu on delivery platforms like Talabat, Careem and Deliveroo.
“Our partnership with Switch marks a significant step toward catering to evolving consumer preferences,” said Harb. “We’ve carefully selected some of our bestselling items to feature this new option, making it easier – and more appealing – for customers to make the shift, all at very competitive prices.”
While 95% of Switch Foods’ initial sales came from retail, its foodservice footprint has grown significantly, with its products now on the menus at Hilton Hotels, Millennium Hotels, Marriott, 25hours Hotel, Eataly, and onboard Emirates flights.
“Our goal at Switch Foods is to make plant-based eating exciting, accessible, and rooted in regional culinary culture,” said Edward Hamod, founder and CEO of Switch Foods.
The company has raised $6.5M in seed funding and was said to be in talks to secure another $7M in Series A funding last year. Since June 2023, it has expanded at a 20% CAGR per month, and closed that year with a revenue of around Dh2 million ($544,000) in only half a year of operations. Last year, it was expected to earn a revenue of Dh10 million ($2.7M).
Research shows that sustainability is an important factor for two-thirds of diners in the UAE, while an even higher share (73%) places emphasis on local and seasonal products. So for Malak Al Tawouk, joining forces with a domestic producer of climate-friendly chicken alternatives – in a country where poultry is king – is a shrewd move that has every chance of paying off.
Backed by the likes of Mike Tyson and Future, vegan fast-food chain Mr Charlie’s is opening 18 locations in Arizona, despite widespread restaurant closures in the US. Here’s why.
It’s never been easy to own a hospitality business; for today’s F&B operators though, it can feel like the deck is stacked against them.
The traditionally thin margins of the restaurant industry are being met with rising ingredient, utility, rental and labour costs, thanks to the climate crisis, geopolitical tensions, and the tariff war. Concurrently, consumers are spending less on dining out or takeaway, and the Ozempic boom has also played a part.
It wasn’t just supermarket shoppers buying fewer meat analogues last year – in the foodservice sector, sales of plant-based proteins fell by 5% too.
This landscape has led to the demise of several restaurants and chains around the country, including Matthew Kenney’s VEG’D, Kevin Hart’s Hart House, and Baia in California, Plum Bistro in Seattle, and Organic Village in New York. Just this week, popular vegan sushi chain Planta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. And Canada’s Odd Burger recently thwarted its US expansion plans due to the tariff war.
Others have added meat to the menu in the hopes of winning more customers, such as Hot Tongue Pizza, Elf Cafe, Burgerlords, Margo’s, and Sage Regenerative Kitchen – the latter wound down earlier this year.
So it’s hardly an exaggeration that plant-based restaurants are in dire straits right now.
One chain – dubbed as a ‘vegan McDonald’s’ – believes it can be an outlier. With three locations in California and Sydney, Australia, Mr Charlie’s Told Me So (known as Mr Charlie’s) has signed a deal to open 18 new stores in Arizona.
The first outlets will be opened in Scottsdale later this year. “We’ve identified our target sites and are currently finalising the details. We’re excited to bring Mr. Charlie’s to a vibrant community that aligns with our ethos and demand for plant-based innovation,” Mr Charlie’s co-founder Taylor McKinnon tells Green Queen.
Courtesy: Mr Charlie’s Told Me So
Why Mr Charlie’s chose Arizona
McKinnon founded Mr Charlie’s with Aaron Haxton in 2020, and the restaurant quickly found TikTok-fame thanks to its McDonald’s-spoofing branding: menu items include Not A Cheeseburger, Mr Muffin, and a Frowny Meal, while its packaging features red boxes with a yellow sad face, a wink-wink ‘unhappy’ brand aesthetic.
The chain teased its expansion last October, developing a franchise model targeting area developers and master franchisees in large US territories, and leveraging data from Uber Eats and Postmates to pinpoint the most well-suited locations and enable faster rollouts.
In Arizona, area developer Patrick Lam, president of Access Capital Group, has become Mr Charlie’s first franchisee. “These restaurants will be hubs of community, second chances, and delicious food,” he said, a nod to Mr Charlie’s commitment to providing opportunities to employees from underprivileged backgrounds, including those overcoming addiction or homelessness.
But what makes Arizona more attractive than other states, like New York or Massachusetts? For McKinnon, the Grand Canyon State “represents a unique intersection of economic growth, [a] favourable business climate, and a rapidly evolving food scene”.
“Scottsdale, in particular, has become a hub for innovation and lifestyle-driven concepts, making it a natural fit for Mr Charlie’s mission,” he says. “Compared to states like Massachusetts, Arizona offers a consumer base eager for fresh, health-conscious alternatives – especially in fast casual. It’s the right energy, the right time, and the right audience.”
Courtesy: Mr Charlie’s Told Me So
That said, the restaurant chain now has a licence to franchise in 38 states and territories (pending final approval of its disclosure document in California and New York). To help manage this model, it has hired Adam Wilks as president.
Wilks is the former CEO of Carma HoldCo, the parent company of the sports and wellness brands of Mike Tyson, Ric Flair, and Future. Carma HoldCo made an investment in Mr Charlie’s in October as part of a strategic round that “significantly contributed” to its expansion plans.
“The Scottsdale launch and several franchise support initiatives are fully funded by our previous round,” says McKinnon, adding: “While we remain open to future capital infusions, current plans are adequately resourced through existing funds and ongoing operational revenue.”
Expansion ‘not a risk, but a response to demand’
Courtesy: Mr Charlie’s Told Me So
The decision to expand came on the back of a “strong year [of] strategic growth” for Mr Charlie’s. “In the US, our flagship locations saw continued year-over-year increases, bolstered by brand loyalty and an uptick in foot traffic across core markets,” explains McKinnon.
“In Australia, our Sydney location exceeded projections and served as a powerful proof of concept for global scalability. Overall, revenue was up across both regions, and margins improved due to refined supply chains and better unit economics.”
He feels the decline in plant-based sales is less about a lack of demand, and more about a desire for better quality and clearer value. “The category grew too fast, and many products didn’t meet consumer expectations,” he suggests.
“At Mr Charlie’s, we focus on taste, experience, and familiarity, not just on being ‘plant-based’. We offer indulgent, comforting food that just happens to be vegan. That positioning resonates beyond diet choices and speaks to a broader cultural movement around conscious consumption.”
This is where some of Mr Charlie’s peers faltered. “Many vegan concepts failed by targeting too narrow an audience or failing to differentiate themselves. Mr Charlie’s has always positioned itself as a lifestyle brand, not just a vegan food spot.
“Our confidence is rooted in real consumer engagement and data, our foot traffic, return customers, and online buzz prove that our model connects. Expansion isn’t a risk, it’s a response to demand.”
The UPF question and importance of customer loyalty
Courtesy: Mr Charlie’s Told Me So
One of the main talking points around plant-based food – particularly meat and dairy alternatives – is their health impact. Nearly four in five Americans would like to eat healthier this year, and half of them feel plant-based foods are better for them than animal proteins. At the same time, 45% want to eat less meat and dairy due to personal health concerns.
However, these products also suffer from a negative perception due to their links with ultra-processing and their long ingredient lists, and vast misinformation campaigns funded by the meat industry don’t help their cause. Leaders like Beyond Meat have repeatedly stated how confusion about the category has affected their bottom lines.
Mr Charlie’s uses plant-based burgers from Impossible Foods, chicken nuggets and patties from TiNDLE Foods, and vegan cheese from Stockeld Dreamery, which McKinnon says helps “deliver the taste and texture our customers love”.
In a recent taste test of meat-eaters in the US, 20 plant-based meat products performed better than their animal-derived counterparts, and six of these belonged to Impossible Foods. This bodes well for Mr Charlie’s appeal to omnivores and flexitarians, a key part of its expansion strategy.
“We’re always exploring new collaborations and innovative products that align with our flavour profile, sustainability goals, and vibe,” says McKinnon. “2025 will see exciting menu additions and potential partnerships that keep us ahead of the curve without compromising who we are.”
As for the UPF debate, he points out that Mr Charlie’s isn’t trying to be a health food chain. “We’re creating a new kind of fast food that’s fun, nostalgic, and kinder. Our model works because we bridge the gap between cultural familiarity and modern values,” he says.
“We’re upfront about what we serve, and our customers come for the experience as much as the food. People don’t just eat Mr Charlie’s, they connect with it emotionally. That loyalty goes deeper than trends.”
From gas protein and bean-free coffee to cultured quail and upcycled kombucha, Fura is opening up the future of food to Singaporeans.
One of the hottest additions to the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list last year, the cult bar is putting sustainability at the heart of its operations and championing an inventive, future-facing menu.
Both a cocktail bar and dining destination, Singapore’s Fura has made a big splash since opening in October 2023, with its menu labelled as a Journal of Future Food. The first edition, for example, featured dishes like XOXO, Tempe, featuring mushroom XO sauce, pomelo, and a chimichurri made from Solein, the gas protein by Solar Foods.
Meanwhile, one of the cocktails on offer was called Got Milk?, a combination of Empirical Soka, pandan, honeydew, and kombucha made from Very Dairy, the animal-free milk commercialised by precision fermentation startup Perfect Day (which has since been discontinued).
Now, co-owners Christina Rasmussen and Sasha Wijidessa are embarking on the next step in Fura’s journey, with the second volume of its future food menu. Among the highlights are Vow‘s cultured quail (and its residual ‘tallow’), a novel take on the Dirty Banana cocktail with Prefer’s beanless coffee, and a triple-corn cocktail highlighting the benefits of crop diversification.
“We want to change the way we eat and drink by giving a glimpse of what our diet could look like in the future due to climate change,” Rasmussen, previously the head forager at Copenhagen’s world-renowned restaurant Noma, tells Green Queen.
Cultured quail walks into Fura
A Quail Walks Into a Bar, featuring Vow’s Forged Parfait | Courtesy: Kahying
One of several establishments using Australian company Vow’s cultivated meat in the city-state, Fura takes things a step further, using not just the Japanese quail parfait, it is also making use of the startup’s fat byproduct.
A Quail Walks Into a Bar is the eatery’s first dish using the cultured quail, which is sold under the Forged brand and was approved for sale in Singapore last year. “The Japanese quail has a buttery, smooth parfait texture, which is piped and torched on top of a hazelnut biscuit, garnished with dill cream and acidic malt apple gel to cut the richness,” describes Rasmussen.
“We’re then also using a byproduct of making the quail cells from Forged as our ‘butter’ for the Bread & Butter(ish). This is formed into a candle, which is lit just before serving and topped with pink peppercorn, garlic and Maldon salt,” she says. “The melted result serves as a dip for the black garlic bread, sweetened with brown bananas.”
This innovation doesn’t stop at the food – the cultured quail has also made onto Fura’s cocktail menu. “A Quail Walks Into a Martini showcases the use of cell-cultured meat by rooting it in a familiar drink, a dry martini,” she says. “The quail is infused into gin and dry vermouth; a caramelised fennel puree is then sous vide and fat-washed with gin to complete the rich and dry drink.”
Fura uses this technique often to integrate less familiar ingredients into the menu “By connecting them to something familiar, our guests will recognise and feel comfortable ordering [them],” says Rasmussen.
In addition, Singaporean startup Prefer’s bean-free coffee – made by fermenting waste bread, soy milk pulp and spent brewer’s grain – appears in two menu items. It’s part of the New Age Sando, which combines the coffee alternative with an apricot kernel ice cream, raspberry crisps, and marigold.
Plus, in Fura’s take on a Dirty Banana, the coffee is replaced with Prefer’s version, which is mixed with Empirical Ayuuk, dates, cardamom, and lacto banana cream.
Fura’s New Age Sando, featuring Prefer’s bean-free coffee | Courtesy: Kahying
Turning future food from ‘intimidating’ to something ‘approachable’
Apart from future food startups, Fura works with a range of local businesses to source its ingredients, including GreenLoop Farms, Mother Dough and Bewilder.
These make it onto the menu in innovative ways too. Take the 3 Crop Corn cocktail, for instance, which is aimed at promoting crop diversification as a strategy for lowering emissions and supporting regenerative landscapes.
“The name refers to a three-crop system with a small grain (represented by the sorghum grain from the Empirical Soka), summer legume (showcased in corn silk vermouth), and cover crop (a garnish of mustard frills from GreenLoopFarms),” explains Rasmussen.
Another aspect of Fura’s sustainability is waste reduction. Its menu has an Ugly Delicious section to include ‘wonky’ fruits and vegetables that don’t make it in retail stores and would otherwise be thrown away. The eatery ferments these to make fruit wines and kombucha.
“We make all of our kombuchas in-house. We have three different flavours: #01 is a blackberry, fennel and black tea kombucha, #02 is a raspberry, pineapple and milk kombucha, and #03 is a grapefruit, coconut and green tea kombucha,” says Rasmussen.
“The milk kombucha is the byproduct from one of our old cocktails, where the ‘whey’ was in excess and we used it to help soften the sharpness of acidity in our kombucha.”
Fura’s Journal of Future Food, Volume Two | Courtesy: Kahying
Aside from food, Fura avoids using cling film and works with reusable piping bags, and makes paper mâché with used receipts, which are then repurposed as product cards for their retail section. These types of measures are what helped the establishment achieve the Sustainable Bar Award by Asia’s 50 Best last year.
“Everything on our food and drinks menus highlights ingredients that are prevalent, invasive or in abundance due to the imbalance of our ecosystem. Our guiding principle is to look for ingredients that have low carbon emissions,” says Rasmussen.
“We understand it can be intimidating for people to live in a way that helps work towards a more sustainable future, so we want to make that more approachable by showing people small steps they can take through food and drink.”
Some of the largest hotel companies in China have received an A+ rating for plant-based policy commitments in a scorecard released at Shanghai Climate Week.
Marriott Greater China, Langham Hospitality, IHG Hotels & Resorts and eight other leading hotel operators are leading the industry’s protein transition in China, according to a new report.
These hotel groups have received an A+ score for their corporate policies on increasing plant-based food offerings, the highest possible rating on the scorecard compiled by Lever China.
The Shanghai-based consultancy firm, part of the Lever Foundation network, presented the scorecard at Shanghai Climate Week, where hospitality executives and sustainability leaders committed to adapting a plant-based framework beyond hotels, and across corporate and campus catering, among other operations.
It comes at a time when China is eating more protein per capita than the US, and mostly from plants. Both national and local governments are promoting plant-based and novel foods, since projections show meat intake in the country – already the leading meat consumer – is set to grow further.
Courtesy: Lever China
Which hotels are leading China’s plant-based shift?
In the China Hospitality Industry Plant-Based Foods Scorecard, Lever Foods analysed hospitality companies’ food policy goals, whether they had set precise timelines and premier targets for protein transition, and if they’re engaging in action steps.
To bag an A+ score, a company is required to have publicly set a timebound target to make at least 30% of all meals plant-based or increase the percentage of non-animal foods served per guest by at least 20%.
In addition, hotel operators must be engaging in at least three action steps, which include making a sizeable portion of the menu plant-based by default in an F&B outlet at each hotel, introducing at least 10 new vegan recipes every year, offering a minimum of two professional development courses annually, and using signage or phrasing to encourage diners to choose meat alternatives.
Accor Hotels and Langham have pledged to make 50% of their menu plant-based by 2030 across all their global locations, while Orange Hotel and OctaveHotels are leading the immediate charge in Greater China, committing to a 30% transition to animal-free foods by this year.
IHG, Marriott, Dossen Group and Yee Hotel (a subsidiary of the White Swan Hotel Group), meanwhile, are aiming to make 30% of their menus vegan by 2025. Same goes for Ahn Lan Resorts & Hotels, Artyzen Hospitality Group’s Macau and Hengqin locations, Baiyun Hotel (all by 2026), and Ascott’s South China operation (by 2028).
“Plant-forward menu strategies are quickly becoming a hallmark of industry leadership in the hospitality sector, delivering measurable benefits to both business operations and broader societal goals of public health and environmental sustainability,” said Cecilia Zhao, sustainability head at Lever China.
Courtesy: Lever China
Plant-based eating on the rise in China
The commitments by the likes of IHG, Dossen and Orange Hotels have all come in collaboration with Lever China, which has been helping the industry ramp up its protein transition efforts.
Polling shows that almost all (98%) Chinese consumers would eat more plants if they were informed about the benefits of a vegan diet, just as research suggests that half of all protein consumption in the country must come from alternative sources by 2060, if the company is to decarbonise effectively.
Lever China has additionally signed a strategic partnership with the Low-Carbon Hotel Development Institute, a state-affiliated organisation, to boost the adoption of plant-based foods in the country’s hotel industry.
The Chinese government has been promoting plant-based foods, with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs recently publishing a briefing with a call to action to “develop new food resources such as plant-based meat”. President Xi Jinping has also called for a Grand Food Vision that includes plant-based and microbial protein sources.
In China’s most populous region, the Guangdong province, local officials are planning to build a biomanufacturing hub to pioneer tech breakthroughs in plant-based, microbial and cultivated proteins.
The Lever Foundation, meanwhile, recently announced that it had supported 175 food businesses across Asia to commit to responsible sourcing, with 17 shifts towards improved production systems and five pledges to significantly ramp up the use of plant-based foods in the last year alone.
According to its website, it has helped shift 29 million corporate meals to plant-based and prevented 82 million kgs of CO2e from businesses each year.
Its work in China speaks to consumer demand, with 88% of local consumers holding hospitality and retail businesses responsible for managing the health and sustainability of their food supply chains, according to a recent survey. Another 77%, meanwhile, are more likely to visit establishments with specific policy goals to increase the use of plant-based food.
While most foodservice companies have outlined climate commitments that involve a protein shift, only some caterers are walking the talk, finds new analysis.
Only half of the US’s leading foodservice providers have commitments to reduce animal proteins or increase the share of plant-based food, despite many companies touting ambitious sustainability goals.
The gap between intention and action remains wide in the country’s catering sector, an influential cog in the transition towards low-carbon proteins and food systems transformation, according to the Humane World for Animals (formerly the Humane Society of the United States).
“It’s essential that companies be open about their sustainability goals and the progress they’re making towards meeting them,” said Kate Watts, director of foodservice innovation at the non-profit. “Customers increasingly value transparency and want to understand which businesses align with their values and which do not.”
The organisation’s latest Protein Sustainability Scorecard ranks 52 of America’s leading foodservice providers based on their food-related sustainability commitments, the impact of those promises, and the real progress being made. It found that only 27 companies have goals related to the protein transition, while 20 failed to report on their targets.
Who are the US’s most sustainable caterers?
Courtesy: Humane World for Animals
Guckenheimer topped the scorecard for the fourth consecutive year, banking an A+ grade for its ambitious goal of making 55% of its menu plant-based by the end of this year, with a 2027 target to reduce animal protein purchases too.
In addition, the caterer aims to reduce its foodservice emissions globally by at least 25% by the end of the decade. Apart from the above measures, it is doing so by making plant proteins the default choice, with the option to opt for meat and dairy if diners wish. Guckenheimer will soon begin adding carbon labels to its menus to allow people to see the impact of their lunches.
Metz Culinary Management and Sodexo USA had an identical score and an A+ grade. The former has a goal to make half its meals vegan by this year and cut animal protein purchases by 5% by 2027. It includes one plant-based menu option at each concept for each meal served. Sodexo, meanwhile, is progressing well on its overall goal to make a third of its entrées vegan globally, rising to 50% in the campus segment.
Rounding out the A+ list is HHS, which has pledged to make half of its retail dining meals plant-based and reduce meat and dairy purchases by 25% by 2027. “The company has one of the strongest plant-based menu commitments and the strongest goal to reduce animal protein purchases over the next several years,” the report states.
Fresh Ideas (with a goal of 50% plant-based menus by this year) and Elior North America (50% plant-based in new programmes, and 30% in higher education, healthcare and professional dining by 2025) were the only other caterers to get an A grade.
These top six are identical to last year’s ratings, indicating that the leading foodservice providers continue to do well, though others haven’t quite made the leap yet.
Who can do better?
Courtesy: Aramark
Four companies received a B+ grade. Whitsons retained its ranking from last year, but it was joined by Aramark, Epicurian Feats Cafés, and Southwest Foodservice Excellence, all of which improved from last year’s B grade. The latter set a new goal to reduce animal protein purchases by 2028.
A few others also improved their performance to reach a B grade. The world’s largest foodservice company, Compass Group, was elevated from a C+. Pomptonian Food Service, which had a C grade last year, set a new goal to have 30% plant-based meals available in its menu management system by 2027.
Meanwhile, SLA Management and AVI Foodservice made big jumps from their F grade last year, achieving a B in the latest report. Quest Food Management Services retained its B grade after achieving its goal of 36-40% plant-based offerings.
On the flip side, a lack of participation or shared supplemental data meant that Creative Dining Services lost its B+ grade and fell to C+, while Epicurean Group dropped from a B to C.
Like last year, the largest share of companies fell in the F grade category, with 20 providers receiving a score of zero and failing to report on their sustainability goals. These included Brock & Company, Healthcare Services Group, Sage Dining Services, Trinity Services Group, and Zest Culinary Services.
“In an era where greenwashing is all too common, honesty around sustainability is paramount – food companies must show, not just tell, how they are making a positive impact on animals, the environment and society,” said Karla Dumas, VP of farm animal protection at Humane World for Animals.
Neat, the vegan burger chain backed by Sir Lewis Hamilton & Leonardo DiCaprio, has shut its remaining UK locations, after a spate of closures over the last 18 months.
Popular plant-based fast-food chain Neat has closed its two remaining sites in the UK, where it originated in 2019.
The celebrity-backed burger restaurant – which has had over a dozen locations in four countries – now only has two sites remaining in Milan, following closures in London, New York City and Dubai over the last 18 months.
The closure of the Camden and Wembley stores in London will potentially affect 150 jobs, and follows a challenging financial period for Neat.
“We have no further comment at this time, other than to confirm that the business has taken the difficult decision to close its UK restaurants,” a company spokesperson told The Sun, which first reported the news.
Neat’s UK closure marked by mounting losses
Neat at the 2025 Met Gala afterparty | Courtesy: Neat
Previously called Neat Burger, the chain opened to much fanfare in 2019, with Formula One legend Sir Lewis Hamilton an early backer, and actor Leonardo DiCaprio and footballer Thibaut Courtois joining as investors in subsequent rounds.
The company has raised over $25M and was valued at $100M in 2023, when it charted a path for expansion both domestically and outside the UK. However, this followed years of Covid-19-related turmoil for hospitality and foodservice businesses, and Neat wasn’t immune to the fallout.
In 2022, the company posted a £7.85M loss, up by 145% from the £3.2M loss reported in 2021. (Its 2023 accounts are overdue by a month, according to the UK’s Companies House.
This led to the closure of five UK restaurants in 2023, halving its footprint in the country. The chain also shelved plans to open four more locations here. The company attributed the losses to a drop in footfall in London’s financial district and West End due to the rise of post-pandemic hybrid working patterns, as well as a decline in demand for food delivery.
“We believe that sometimes, taking a step back is necessary to make a bigger leap forward,” Neat said at the time. “We remain deeply committed to our mission of providing delicious, sustainable, plant-based dining, and are excited about our future growth prospects.”
While it had earmarked more restaurant openings in the US and Middle East, over the course of 2024, its existing sites in these countries shut their doors too. This was followed by the closure of Neat’s outposts in London Victoria and Soho, and the departure of co-founder and director Zack Bishti.
Vegan restaurant closures continue
Courtesy: Neat
It has been tough going for the restaurant industry, and plant-based concepts haven’t been spared either. In the UK, restaurants are closing at the fastest rate in a decade – over 1,400 eateries shuttering between September 2023 and 2024, a 19% increase from the period 12 months prior. Rising ingredient, utility and rental costs have put more than 10% at an “imminent” risk of closure, experts say.
Since 2024, vegan fast-food restaurants The Vurger Co, Frost Burgers, Donner Summer, and JJ’s Vish and Chips all closed their doors, while Flower Burger exited the UK market. Bristol-based group Oowie, which had been expanding with a vegan-only approach, is now focusing on growing its diner-style restaurants with meat. In October, it turned a plant-based location into one serving animal products.
That trend is being seen in the US too, with Hot Tongue Pizza, Elf Cafe, Burgerlords, Margo’s, and Sage Regenerative Kitchen all adding animal proteins to their meat-free menus. The latter wound down earlier this year, becoming one of a number of casualties in Los Angeles’s restaurant industry.
Neat’s UK closure is the latest example that even celebrity backing may not be enough to survive in this landscape. In LA, Matthew Kenney’s VEG’D and Kevin Hart’s Hart House shut their doors in 2024, while in the UK, Made in Chelsea star Verity Bowditch and YouTuber Mikey Pearce’s Clean Kitchen Club closed its last remaining site in January, nine months after introducing meat on its previously vegan menu.
Meanwhile, Deliciously Ella also closed its Plants by DE eatery in Mayfair following its acquisition by Hero Group in September, despite retaining the restaurant in the deal.
But in an encouraging sign, two months after Unity Diner – the vegan fast-food restaurant co-owned by animal activist Ed Winters (aka Earthling Ed) – announced its closure due to rising costs, it successfully negotiated a new deal with its landlord and reopened in its original location in East London.
French catering giant Sodexo is expanding its partnership with Greener by Default to roll out plant-forward menus at 400 hospitals in the US.
To help Americans stay healthier, spend less money, and be kinder to the planet, Sodexo is expanding its plant-heavy menus across all US hospitals it caters to.
To do so, it’s diversifying its partnership with Greener by Default, a behavioural choice agency that advocates for menus that prioritise plant-based food over animal options.
The expansion builds on the success of their campaign with NYC Health + Hospitals, which rolled out its ‘plant-based by default’ scheme at all 11 public hospitals in the city to great success. That initiative has served over two million patients since its 2022 launch, with a 90% satisfaction rate.
Sodexo’s menus position vegan meals as the default option for one meal per day at 131 hospitals already, but this will now be extended to an additional 200 hospitals this year, and bring the total to 400 by 2026.
“Our collaboration with Greener by Default is driven by our shared goal to advance and promote plant-based dining in hospitals across the US through effective choices,” said Molly Matthews, CEO of Sodexo’s healthcare and seniors divisions.
“We anticipate continued success of the plant-based menu expansion and its positive impact on our clients and their patients.”
Sodexo looks to replicate NYC success
Courtesy: Better Food Foundation
The New York City scheme saw plant-based meals become the preexisting option for patients. The first meal offered is the chef’s recommendation, and is always plant-based. If this isn’t accepted, they’re presented with an alternative vegan option. If that is rejected too, many other dishes are available.
Patients are presented with nutritional information to encourage healthy eating both during and after their stay, hospital TVs and screensavers include an appealing image of vegan food with text highlighting its health benefits, and tray carts pushed through halls are wrapped in imagery that promotes plant-based meals. When being discharged, patients also receive a vegan recipe book collected from hospital staff submissions.
All this has led to a 36% reduction in food emissions. And the savings don’t just come from carbon – the vegan dishes are 59 cents cheaper than meat-based dishes on average.
The success of this programme has spurred Sodexo’s expansion. Early data from another hospital already offering plant-based meals by default shows that patients have been eating 36% more vegan entrées, while their selection of meat-based mains has declined by 20%.
These numbers may be preliminary, but they suggest that even if 10% of the 290,000 meals Sodexo serves to patients daily shift from animals to plants, the caterer could transition more than 10 million meals a year.
The company argues its vegan meal programme preserves freedom of choice and provides an array of protein options for diners, with dishes including Cajun pastalaya, southwest potato breakfast bowl, and balsamic stuffed portobello mushrooms. It cites research showing that plant-based eating can “significantly lower” the risk of chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers.
“As a leader in healthy-outcomes-based menus and protocols through our Clinicia patient nutrition programs, we recognised the need for a partner like Greener by Default to support our efforts in educating teams, promoting our plant-based meal options, and extracting meaningful data for improved outcomes,” Matthews noted.
Plant-based meals scheme part of climate strategy
Courtesy: NYC Health + Hospitals
“The continued success of patient menus that position plant-based options as the default demonstrates how small, cost-effective shifts can have an outsized impact, while still preserving freedom of choice for diners and ensuring their access to nutritious, sustainable foods that don’t compromise on taste,” said Greener by Default co-founder and CEO Katie Cantrell.
The non-profit has teamed up with 18 hospitals and healthcare systems (both in the US and overseas) in the last year alone, developing plant-forward menus to help improve health and climate outcomes, decrease costs, and prioritise diner satisfaction.
Sodexo, meanwhile, has rolled out a similar initiative at 400 US universities via a partnership with behavioural science non-profit Food for Climate League and dietary change think tank the Better Food Foundation, using the latter’s DefaultVeg approach.
The caterer’s Good Eating Company had previously partnered with Greener by Default on a successful corporate pilot with LinkedIn, halving the carbon emissions of the social media company’s San Francisco office. The 12-week pilot saved 14,400 of CO2e by making two-thirds of the menu vegan, including opting for oat milk as the default coffee bar choice and flavour descriptors over words like ‘vegan’ and ‘vegetarian’ on menu cards.
All this plays into its climate targets. The company plans to lower emissions by 34% by this year (from a 2017 baseline) and make 70% of all its meals low-carbon by the end of the decade, as part of a wider goal to reach net zero by 2040.
From meat-free dim sum to non-dairy pearl tea: a 2025 list of Hong Kong’s best vegan-friendly eats.
If you’re in Hong Kong and you happen to love food, you’re in for a good time.
The city’s historical cuisine is known for its Cantonese origins, with international culinary accents sprinkled all over.
It may be among the most prolific meat-eating regions globally, but as Asia’s World City, it’s also home to some of the best meat-free food on the planet. Hong Kong is a fast-moving, ever-evolving plant-based paradise, with meat-free eaters getting a taste of the island as much in fancy diners as they do at street food stalls.
Post-Covid, the vegan scene underwent some major changes, and many of the lists online are outdated. Since the first question people ask us when we say we work at Green Queen is “Where are the best vegan eats?”, we figured we owed it to our home city to create an updated list of the island’s best vegan-friendly restaurants.
About this list: This is by no means an exhaustive list; rather, it’s a curated, up-to-date snapshot of some of the city’s always-reliable, plant-based restaurants – all tried and tested by our team. The restaurants listed here are either vegetarian or vegan. We are not including some great non-veg spots to get plant-based food. Find some of those here. Hong Kong also has a great selection of Cantonese and Buddhist Chinese vegetarian cuisine (dozens, in fact), but that list would have been too long, and Happy Cow does a perfectly good job.
Vegan dim sum
Veggie Kingdom
Courtesy: Anay Mridul/Green Queen
For vegan dim sum (or yum cha as the locals call it), look no further than Veggie Kingdom. It’s a fully plant-based parlour that keeps to the tick-what-you-want tradition but modernises classic dim sum dishes to be animal-free. Try the shredded turnip puffs, the vegan shrimp dumplings, and the cucumber salad – but book in advance, because the restaurant is almost always full!
Veggie Kingdom has two locations: VIP Commercial Centre, 120 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, and 4th Floor, Kyoto Plaza, 491-499 Lockhart Rd, Causeway Bay.
LockCha
Courtesy: LockCha
Another great restaurant for local food is LockCha, a vegetarian tea house and dim sum restaurant with tons of options for vegans. It’s slightly pricier, but it’s worth it. Go for the bean curd rolls, stay for the siu mai and pan-fried rice roll with XO sauce (a Hong Kong original).
LockCha has two locations: G06-07, Block 01, Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Road, Central, and The KS Lo Gallery, Hong Kong Park, 10 Cotton Tree Drive, Admiralty.
Date night
Japanese Isoya
Courtesy: Anay Mridul/Green Queen
Just a short walk away from Wan Chai station, Isoya is a Japanese restaurant that puts the ‘fine’ in ‘fine dining’. A perfect date spot, the meat-free establishment has a tasting menu that can be made vegan upon request. While some dishes change seasonally, we loved the tofu tasting plate, the veggie sushi, and the life-altering tomato sashimi. Reservations recommended.
Isoya is located at 83 Wan Chai Rd, Wan Chai.
Cantonese-French at Emerald
Courtesy: Emerald
How about some modernist Cantonese-French cuisine? Emerald has you covered for date night, with some truly inventive plant-based dishes to keep you interested. Think iced king oyster mushrooms with yuzu-wasabi soy sauce, seafood fried rice with laksa and XO sauce, OmniPork dumplings in soup, and vegan foie gras balls with truffle sauce. And if that wasn’t enough, diners can also enjoy vegan tiramisu and golden crispy oat milk.
Emerald is located at 6/F, M88, Wellington Place, 2-8 Wellington Street, Central.
Pan-Asian at Root Vegan
Courtesy: Root Vegan
For a more casual vibe, Root Vegan is the place to be. The establishment offers a mix of Cantonese and pan-Asian dishes, with most dishes changing seasonally. We’re big fans of the khao soi with soy drumsticks, which is permanently on the menu, as well as their dairy-free, eggless cakes.
Root Vegan is located at Shop 102-103, 1/F Sunwise Building, 112-114 Wellington Street, Central.
Desserts and brunch
The Cakery and Maya Bakery
Courtesy: The Cakery
Owned by entrepreneur Shirley Kwok, The Cakery and its sister chain Maya Bakery are two of our favourite places to find vegan sweet treats. The former has a host of options for diet-inclusive cakes and desserts (from a Dubai chocolate cotton cake to a Biscoff cheesecake), while the latter specialises in baked goods, savoury brunch options, and coffee (we’re big fans of the vegan egg tarts, pineapple buns, and the fish-free tuna mayo croissant).
The Cakery has five locations across Hong Kong, including in Admiralty, Wong Chuk Hang, and Tsim Sha Tsui. Its sites in IFC Mall on Finance Street and PCCW Tower in Taikoo Place also feature Maya Bakery.
LN Fortunate Coffee
Courtesy: Anay Mridul/Green Queen
For a calming vegan brunch with the sweetest staff, you’d be hard-pressed to find something better than LN Fortunate Coffee. Yes, it does good coffee – but the real stars are the dishes. This 100% plant-based establishment is the only place we’ve found that offers a classic Hong Kong French Toast, sans animals – and it doesn’t disappoint. We also loved the bubble waffles and the hot dogs (with a jumbo tofu sausage).
LN Fortunate Coffee has two locations in Hong Kong: 30-34 Kwai Wing Road Shop 107, 1/F, Edge, Kwai Chung, and 118 Second Street, Sai Ying Pun.
18 Grams
Courtesy: 18 Grams
One of Hong Kong’s original specialty coffee roasters, 18 Grams serves only vegetarian fare, and has a host of options for plant-based visitors (plus free swaps for oat or almond milk). Try the oat milk piccolo, the tofu-avocado bagel, and the all-day breakfast – the menu does change seasonally, so you can always expect great vegan breakfast grub here.
18 Grams has three locations: City’super, B1/F, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay, Shop C, G/F, Hoi To Court, 15 Cannon Street, Causeway Bay, and City’super, Shop 204-214, 2/F, New Town Plaza, 18 Sha Tin Centre St, Sha Tin.
Vegan Bubble Pearl Tea
Mother Pearl
Courtesy: Mother Pearl
Yet another entirely vegan spot, Mother Pearl is truly the mother of all pearl teas, with the power to turn bubble tea haters into members with subscription cards. The Instagram-ready aesthetic is one thing, but the flavours and textures really take you on a journey – all with homemade plant milks. With every season, the chain brings out new must-try innovations, but menu stalwarts like Crush on Gold, Soul Full of Sunshine, and Glimpse of Sunburst will blow your mind.
Mother Pearl has three locations: 25 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, Shop 3, On Hing Mansion, 2-4 Tai Wong Street East, Wan Chai, and Shop No M31, MOKO, 193 Prince Edward Rd W, Mong Kok, Kowloon.
Nuttea
Courtesy: Nuttea
While we’re on drinks, be sure to give Nuttea a try. There’s no boba here, but the star of the show is the five-nut cream. The beige, airy cream can top any of the extensive teas and chocolate drinks on the menu, lending a creamy, Nutella-like flavour (but somehow with no chocolate). It’s addictive, and you can also buy a whole cup of just nut cream (wink wink).
Nuttee has seven locations in Hong Kong, including in Kwai Fong, Tai Po, Shek Mun, Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun, Tsim Sha Tsui, and Admiralty.
All-day eateries: vegan pasta, burgers and wraps
Treehouse – multiple locations
Courtesy: Treehouse
A fantastic vegetarian chain with build-your-own bowls and wraps, burgers, and desserts that make it the perfect eatery for lunch on a busy workday, or a quick dinner before your nightlife plans. The menu is heavily focused on whole-food plant-based eating, with our favourites including the Willow bowl, the Reef burger, and the double chocolate chip-macadamia cookie.
Treehouse has five locations, including in Central, Taikoo Place, Causeway Bay, Quarry Bay, and Tsim Sha Tsui.
Years Group – multiple locations
Courtesy: Anay Mridul/Green Queen
Rather than being a chain or singular eatery, Years is a restaurant group with several vegetarian establishments scattered across the city, each with its own theme and cuisine, spanning a mix of local and international. Try the double cilantro Impossible cheeseburger at its original namesake site, the chipotle-avocado sushi volcano at Wanaka, the Japanese yuzu tofu steak bento at Here, and the Sichuan mala cilantro spaghetti at Here.
Years has six restaurants across the city: Years (Sham Shui Po), The Park (Sham Shui Po), Friends (Tsuen Wan), Be (Hung Hom), Here (Taikoo Shing), and Wanaka (Wan Chai).
Veggie4love
Courtesy: Veggie4love
Bringing more international vibes is Veggie4love, which is designed as a San Francisco eatery from the 1950s. This is the place to get your burger and milkshake fix (we recommend the I Am Fabulous beetroot-cashew-lentil burger and the secret shake), but it’s also great if you’re craving dishes like a vegan bibimbap, a gado-gado salad, or plant-based chicken rice.
Veggie4love is located at 10/F, 11 Stanley Street, Central.
Thai Vegetarian Food
This unassuming eatery in Kowloon is all about no-frills dining. It has an extensive menu of Thai classics, all of which is completely vegetarian and of course, highly adaptable for vegans. Try the fried monkey head mushrooms, the pomelo salad, the tom yum, and the longan juice.
Thai Vegetarian Food is located at Cheong Wong Building, 28A South Wall Rd, Kowloon.
New York-based Actual Veggies has become the exclusive veggie burger supplier for Compass Group-owned Eurest, the caterer for some of the biggest companies in the US.
Employees at Amazon, Google and Microsoft will now be able to order burgers made from black beans and kale and broccoli, with their caterer responding to a shift in consumer preferences for plant-based food.
Eurest, the corporate-focused arm of the world’s largest catering company, Compass Group, has signed an exclusive deal with New York startup Actual Veggies, whose patties will replace a “legacy brand” of veggie burgers across the 1,600+ sites it serves nationwide.
The move comes after Eurest’s research showed that taste is the leading factor influencing consumers to choose plant-forward menu items, followed by health benefits.
“This move signals a real shift in consumer and operator preferences,” Actual Veggies co-founder and co-CEO Jason Rosenbaum tells Green Queen. “People are looking for food made with real, recognisable ingredients – not ultra-processed meat alternatives.”
He adds: “Actual Veggies isn’t trying to mimic meat. We’re celebrating vegetables, and this partnership proves there’s a strong demand for that. Whole-food plant-based options are no longer niche – they’re becoming the standard.”
A partnership born out of a grocery run
Courtesy: Eurest/Actual Veggies/Green Queen
Eurest’s switch to Actual Veggies was spearheaded by Chris Ivens-Brown, chief culinary officer for Compass Group North America. He purchased a box of Actual Veggies from the grocery store and was so impressed that he was compelled to submit an inquiry to learn more about the company.
This kicked off the start of R&D from the Eurest culinary team, who subsequently developed a variety of recipes to highlight the flavours and texture people look for in a burger. Eurest noted how Actual Veggies’s burgers are made using fresh vegetables, grains, and legumes, matching its expectations for flavour and appearance.
“We’re focused on culinary innovation, both through our chef-driven concepts and the partners we collaborate with. Actual Veggies is pushing the category forward with products that deliver on taste, quality and innovation,” says Ivens-Brown.
Actual Veggie’s signature black bean patty – a permanent addition to Eurest’s menu – also contains red pepper, caramelised onions, carrots, parsnips, lemons, and oats. Its other burgers will be rotated as limited seasonal promotions too. This spring, Eurest’s sites will feature various dishes using the Super Greens burger, which contains a base of broccoli, kale, and spinach.
“The burgers will be prepared by Eurest’s culinary teams and served in a variety of ways depending on the café – as classic veggie burger builds, bowls, and other customisable options,” says Hailey Swartz, co-founder and co-CEO of Actual Veggies. “We designed our burgers to be chef-friendly and versatile, so they’re easy to work with while delivering bold, recognizable flavour.”
Actual Veggies teases 2025 as its biggest year yet
Courtesy: Actual Veggies
Actual Veggies had announced its partnership with Compass Group in February, when it closed a $7M Series A funding round. Swartz notes that the Eurest corporate dining deal is a “major step, but just the beginning”: “We’re actively exploring opportunities with Compass and other partners to expand into schools, hospitals, and other non-commercial foodservice sectors where better-for-you food is in high demand.”
It comes at a time when plant-based meat is struggling to capture wallet share. Yearly sales in retail continued to fall in 2024, with the downtick steady at around 9%. Meanwhile, of the 53% of Americans who have tried meat analogues, a quarter are “lapsed consumers” who haven’t eaten them in the previous year, according to a poll by Morning Consult for the Good Food Institute.
Much of this can be attributed to a backlash against ultra-processed foods, which some studies have described as harmful to health, though experts have cautioned that processing shouldn’t be directly linked with nutrition.
“There’s been a growing awareness around clean eating, ingredient transparency, and the environmental impact of what we eat,” argues Swartz. “Consumers want food that’s both healthy and trustworthy. People are reading labels more carefully – and they’re choosing options that feel real, nourishing, and minimally processed.”
It’s why brands like Actual Veggies are finding success – its annual revenues grew by 125% in 2024, when it doubled its distribution. Its veggie burgers and fries are available at over 6,500 retail stores in the US, including Albertsons, Kroger, Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, and Costco.
Swartz says 2025 is shaping up to be the firm’s biggest year yet: “We’re expanding deeper into foodservice, scaling retail distribution, and introducing new products that stay true to our clean-label mission. This Eurest partnership has opened the door for even more growth in corporate dining, and we’re already in talks to bring our burgers to new channels – including healthcare, education, and hospitality.”
Canada’s Odd Burger has halted its US expansion plan amid “increased political tensions”, just days after it announced a plan to course through the tariff war between the two neighbours.
Heightened political tension between Canada and the US has forced a prominent Ontario-based plant-based burger chain to pause its expansion plans stateside.
Listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Odd Burger has announced it is halting its plans to invest in the US and open 20 locations in Washington state and another 40 in Florida.
The ongoing trade war between the neighbouring countries has pushed the company to refocus its capital on its Canadian manufacturing and franchise operations, despite publicising a tariff-proof strategy for its US expansion earlier this month.
Why Odd Burger is pressing pause on its US plans
Courtesy: Odd Burger
After announcing a 6% quarterly growth in Q4 2024, Odd Burger secured a $2M non-brokered private placement to fuel its American expansion.
To deal with the impact of tariffs in the US, the company planned to replicate the vertically integrated supply chain it uses in Canada. It said it would source ingredients from American farmers and build its own manufacturing plant in the country, ensuring that the food it offers is locally produced and helping maintain control over its value chain.
“Our experience in Canada has shown that a vertically integrated, localised supply chain is key to controlling costs and maintaining high-quality food production,” Odd Burger co-founder and CEO James McInnes said after announcing the strategy. “We are confident that by implementing this strategy in the US, we can expand quickly while keeping prices stable and offering the same level of excellence that our customers expect.”
Those plans are now on the back burner. “Given the global tariff uncertainty, we are putting the brakes on our US expansion until pricing metrics can be formulated with certainty,” McInnes noted.
“We are also seeing increased demand for our products in Canada, and as a Canadian Company, we want to make sure that we focus on our core market at this time,” he added. Odd Burger operates a factory in London, Ontario, where it makes over 20 plant proteins and dairy-free sauces under its Preposterous Foods brand. In addition, it has 20 franchised locations across the country.
McInnes ascribed the decision to “increased political tensions, uncertainty on Canadians travelling to the US, and [the] ever-changing tariff situation”.
Separately, Odd Burger has deals in place to expand into India (with 145 sites), Singapore (five locations), and Germany, Austria and Switzerland (25).
Odd Burger eyes ‘growth opportunity’ for Canadian companies
Courtesy: Odd Burger
One of Donald Trump’s major presidential campaign promises, tariffs are wreaking havoc in the global economy. Most Canadian goods coming into the US face a 25% levy, and Canada has retaliated with reciprocal tariffs on over $30B worth of goods.
The US is Canada’s largest export market, taking up over 77% of the share, so any tariffs would hit both countries’ economies hard. They may not directly impact the price tag of a packaged food product – but they will raise the cost of imported raw materials and equipment for domestic manufacturers, which in turn would lead to higher on-shelf markups.
Odd Burger’s Canadian facility produces foods like oats, chickpeas, and wheat. These are ingredients that the US relies on Canada for its imported supply – for example, 92% of oats in the US come from other countries, and mostly from Canada.a
So it was a smart move for the company to focus on local production for its US operations, before the plan was halted. As for the tariffs, there’s an exemption in place for products under the free trade agreement, which will be lifted on April 2.
In anticipation of the resulting price increases, Odd Burger says it can help other Canadian companies transition to domestic plant-based products, noting that it could be a “significant growth opportunity in supporting the Canadian market”.
McDonald’s Canada is trialling the McVeggie, featuring a patty that ditches plant-based meat for vegetables.
After the Beyond Burger failure in Canada, McDonald’s is banking on vegetables for its latest meat-free main.
The Golden Arches is testing the McVeggie at 37 locations in British Columbia, Ontario and New Brunswick until April 14, gathering feedback from diners to inform a potential national launch.
It comes six years after the fast-food chain introduced the P.L.T. (Plant, Lettuce, Tomato) sandwich in Canada, featuring a Beyond Burger. The patty was tested in September 2019, before a wider 12-week trial in early 2020 – but it failed to break through and was eventually discontinued.
Now, McDonald’s is hoping that a vegetable-forward burger will capture consumers who don’t eat meat or are looking to cut back – two in five (39%) of Canadians say they’re eating less red meat, and another quarter would be willing to do so.
McDonald’s ‘uniquely Canadian’ meat-free burger
Courtesy: McDonald’s Canada/Green Queen
If you’ve ever been to a McDonald’s store in India, Brazil, Australia or New Zealand (among other places), you probably know that the McVeggie has been around for a long time.
Each is distinctly unique to its local market, and the Canadian McVeggie is no different. The breaded, deep-fried patty includes a blend of vegetables like soybeans, carrots, green beans, zucchini, peas, broccoli and corn, mixed with seasonings and topped with lettuce and a mayo-style sauce.
The latter contains eggs, so the McVeggie isn’t vegan – this was the case with the P.L.T. too, which came with mayo and cheese.
The McVeggie is available in a spicy habanero variant, which swaps the mayo-based sauce for a creamy habanero spread currently used in the Spicy McCrispy burger (this also contains egg).
“While our guests may have tried similar sandwiches at McDonald’s globally, our McVeggie is uniquely Canadian,” said Jeff Anderson, senior manager of culinary innovation at McDonald’s Canada. “We’re always looking for new opportunities to innovate and build on our menu, and the McVeggie will give even more guests the opportunity to enjoy that delicious McDonald’s flavour Canadians know and love.”
McDonald’s Canada CMO Francesca Cardarelli added: “We know more people in Canada than ever before are looking for new flavours and for variety on our menus. Our goal is to continue to offer new and exciting choices to meet these needs. And the McVeggie does just that.”
Can the McVeggie help McDonald’s attract meat reducers?
Courtesy: McDonald’s Canada
The launch of the McVeggie stemmed from McDonald’s internal research, which revealed that around 35% of Canadians have food limitations – whether due to an allergy or personal preference – and about half of the time, it’s these consumers who decide where the group they’re dining with go to eat.
“The market is evolving and we’re listening to what guests are telling us,” Anderson told the Toronto Star. “So you’ll see this is a veggie-first patty. It’s one of the things we’re getting to learn. What we found from the McDonald’s consumer is that they might not be able to come to us for religious reasons or cultural reasons, and we’re looking at something that fits within that.”
Cardarelli told The Canadian Press that the Beyond Meat burger “wasn’t quite what consumers are looking for”, echoing comments from McDonald’s US president Joe Erlinger last summer.
The American executive had said the McPlant – as the Beyond Meat sandwich is known outside Canada – was “not successful” in the markets it was tested in, and that there were no plans on bringing it back. Experts, however, have called it an issue of “marketing malpractice”, rather than a lack of consumer demand.
This can be evidenced in Europe, where the McPlant has shone. When it was launched in the UK and Ireland in 2022, it was so popular, that McDonald’s introduced a Double McPlant months later. Successful trials in Germany and the Netherlands also led to a nationwide rollout, with the latter adding four new vegan products in 2023 (including a McPlant variant).
That said, meat alternatives are still low on the priority list for Canadians, 60% of whom don’t consume these products; though with more consumers looking to reduce red meat, and McDonald’s Canada receiving an F grade in a ranking of vegan-friendly restaurant chain menus, veggie burgers may be a shrewd move.
“As this is our first test of the McVeggie, we’re using this opportunity to gather insights and guests’ feedback so we can continue delivering on our commitment to serving great tasting, quality food we know Canadians will love and enjoy,” said Cardarelli.
Canadian plant-based restaurant chain Odd Burger has detailed its US expansion strategy to tackle the impact of the ongoing trade war between the neighbours.
As America’s trade war with the world continues, one burger chain is opting for a shrewd strategy to expand its US business and avoid the financial impact of tariffs.
Ontario-based Odd Burger, a vegan fast-food company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, is set to open the first of 20 franchised locations in Washington state this year, with another 40 planned for Florida in the future.
To mitigate the financial blowback that comes with President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, the firm is looking to replicate its localised supply model for the expansion, sourcing American ingredients and building a facility within the US.
“Our experience in Canada has shown that a vertically integrated, localised supply chain is key to controlling costs and maintaining high-quality food production,” said Odd Burger co-founder and CEO James McInnes.
To support the expansion, the company has secured a $2M non-brokered private placement, which itself comes two weeks after it announced a 6% quarterly revenue growth in Q4 2024, with losses cut by 80%.
Odd Burger to leverage US farmers and manufacturing
Courtesy: Odd Burger
The vertically integrated supply chain McInnes referred to was established via Odd Burger’s manufacturing division, Preposterous Foods. Through this company, it manufactures its own plant-based meat and dairy products at its facility in London, Ontario, which primarily uses Canadian-grown ingredients.
That approach has allowed the company to minimise external supply chain disruptions, maintain product quality, and reduce costs amid challenging market conditions. These products are distributed to its restaurant locations as well as grocery stores under its CPG line.
The company operates a franchise model and currently has 20 locations in Canada. It has long-held international ambitions – apart from the 60 planned franchise stores in the US, it has deals in place to expand into India (with 145 sites), Singapore (five locations), and Germany, Austria and Switzerland (25).
The US, though, will be the first country outside Canada to host an Odd Burger restaurant. But as the companies remain locked in an escalating trade war, the business is bringing that vertical supply chain model stateside.
Odd Burger will source ingredients from US farmers and build its own manufacturing plant in the country. This would ensure that the food it offers is locally produced, and help the firm maintain control over its supply chain.
“We are confident that by implementing this strategy in the US, we can expand quickly while keeping prices stable and offering the same level of excellence that our customers expect,” said McInnes.
Courtesy: Odd Burger
How Trump’s tariffs on Canada are creating uncertainty
Tariffs, one of Trump’s major campaign promises, are creating chaos in the global economy. The president’s latest announcement has seen a 25% tax slapped on steel and aluminium imports from the world over.
Most Canadian goods coming into the US also face a 25% levy, and Canada has retaliated with reciprocal tariffs on over $30B worth of goods. While there’s an exemption in place for products under the free trade agreement, that only lasts until April 2 for now.
The US is Canada’s largest export market, taking up over 77% of the share, so any tariffs would hit both countries’ economies hard. They may not directly impact the price tag of a packaged food product – but they will raise the cost of imported raw materials and equipment for domestic manufacturers, which in turn would lead to higher on-shelf markups.
Odd Burger’s Canadian facility produces foods like oats, chickpeas, and wheat. These are ingredients that the US relies on Canada for its imported supply – for example, 92% of oats in the US come from other countries, and mostly from Canada.
Courtesy: Odd Burger
So for Odd Burger – which plans to bring its retail products like breakfast sausages and burgers to the US as well – manufacturing ingredients locally is a smart move. That said, greater taxes on potash and fertilisers (already imported in large quantities from Canada) will make it more expensive for American farmers to grow crops.
The company’s expansion efforts and facility construction will be supported with the $2M private placement, a sign of investors’ confidence in the business. While Odd Burger’s revenues shrunk slightly by 3.8% in 2024, its net loss plunged by 41%.
“Our focus for the past year has been on building a national chain and expanding our footprint,” McInnes said after publishing the company’s Q4 earnings. “As we move forward, our focus is on growing our revenue and continuing to build and deploy the technology that will truly differentiate us from anyone else in our industry.”
A large chunk of restaurants – particularly those that serve meat – don’t offer healthy plant-based meals, according to a new study.
In places like the US, Europe and Australia, seeing a vegan-friendly dish on restaurant menus is increasingly common, as the foodservice industry works to adapt to widening dietary preferences.
But many of these options may not be great for you, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Louisville and the University of Chicago.
Over the course of three years, the authors visited over 560 restaurants with vegan offerings – a majority located in the US, followed by Australia, England, Germany, Italy and Spain – analysing plant-based entrées for healthfulness.
They found that there are many unhealthy plant-based foods found on the menus of both omnivorous and meat-free restaurants. “There is minimal transparency in the disclosure of nutritional facts that would help health-conscious patrons distinguish between healthful and unhealthful plant-based items,” they wrote.
Published in the Nutrients journal, the findings come at a time when health becomes the central focus for many plant-based brands, in response to consumer demand for products that better serve their wellbeing. For example, Beyond Meat revamped its plant-based beef recipe last year to cut saturated fat content by 60%, replacing coconut and canola oils with avocado oil.
Meat-free restaurants tend to have healthier options for vegans
Courtesy: Nutrients
The researchers analysed up to a maximum of 10 vegan mains on restaurant menus, with each scoring one point if they were free from what they classed as unhealthy ingredients.
These included refined grains like white rice or refined flour, saturated fats such as palm oil or coconut cream, and deep-fried foods – each of which carried a negative point. Even products like meat analogues from Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat were classed as unhealthy, although the latter was no longer identified that way after its reformulation.
“If an entrée with an unhealthy ingredient had a healthier option listed on the menu – e.g., brown rice instead of white rice, whole-grain bun vs white-flour bun, or steamed tofu vs fried tofu – the healthier option was credited to that entrée,” the study explained.
There was an almost equal split of omnivore and meatless eateries, with the number of plant-based mains on offer similar in the US (6.6) and elsewhere (6.2). That said, the average number of healthful vegan entrées trended slightly higher stateside (3.4, versus 2.9 in other countries).
Vegan or vegetarian restaurants had a slightly higher number of healthy plant-based dishes on offer, with 24% having a score of seven or above, versus just 13% for eateries that also serve meat.
Meanwhile, 14% of meat-free establishments were found to have zero options without refined grains, saturated fat, or deep-fried components, rising to 26% of omnivore outlets.
Refined grains represented the “largest source of unhealthfulness in entrées”, reducing the scores of dishes in 40% of omnivore eateries and 26% of meatless ones. Following that, meat-serving restaurants were more likely to be penalised for saturated fat (12%), and vegan/vegetarian establishments for deep-fried foods (28%).
Restaurants have the responsibility to ‘promote health over profit’
Courtesy: Nutrients
“There is minimal transparency in the disclosure of nutritional facts that would help health-conscious patrons distinguish between healthful and unhealthful plant-based items. Since most restaurants do not provide detailed information on portion size, calories, sodium, total fat, saturated fat, total sugar, or added sugar content, even knowledgeable consumers may struggle to make informed choices,” the authors said.
“Given the well-established relationship between unhealthful dietary patterns, chronic illness, and mortality – and the relative ease with which nutritional information could be provided – we propose that detailed nutrition facts be made publicly available for every restaurant.”
The researchers advised restaurants to reevaluate the healthfulness of their entrées by using recipes and ingredients driven by dietary guidelines – more and more countries are recommending citizens eat plant-based whole foods and cut back on meat.
“Restaurants have the power, if not the responsibility, to promote health and sustainability rather than profits at the high cost of chronic disease and premature mortality,” the study added.
In Australia, too, two in five people are cutting back on meat, primarily out of health concerns. This is also the main driver for their consumption of plant-based alternatives, with 53% citing it.
From London to New York City, five vegan restaurants possess Michelin stars – here’s what you need to know.
Who says high-end can’t be climate-conscious and ethical?
Across the world, more and more restaurants are greenifying their menus to align with sustainability and animal welfare. It’s a movement that has reached the upper echelons of tweezer cuisine, with Michelin – the tyre manufacturer famous for its food recommendations – increasingly recognising eateries that do their bit for the planet.
To that end, the company introduced the Michelin Green Star with the 2021 guide, rewarding restaurants that go all-in on sustainability, whether that’s to do with their sourcing and suppliers, food waste, and material use. Today, 611 restaurants have a Michelin Green Star.
When it comes to the original stars, though, that honour remains largely elusive for restaurants championing plants. New York’s Dirt Candy and Madrid’s El Invernadero are the only vegetarian restaurants with a Michelin star (each has one star).
Meanwhile, eight fully vegan restaurants have been designated as Bib Gourmand (recognised for good quality and value), and another 19 are “selected” (honoured for good cooking). Only five fully vegan eateries have a Michelin star, with just one sporting all three. Below we list them out.
Eleven Madison Park – 3 Michelin Stars
Location: New York City, US Michelin stars: 3, since 2012 (retained as a vegan restaurant in 2022)
Perhaps the most famous vegan eatery on the planet now, Eleven Madison Park has a storied history. It made its name as the world’s best restaurant with meat-heavy delicacies like its honey lavender duck, but chef-owner Daniel Humm’s mid-pandemic realisation – that business as usual in the food system isn’t sustainable – led to a complete 180 for the New York City establishment.
Always at the forefront of innovation, Humm reopened Eleven Madison Park as a plant-based restaurant in 2021 and retained the three Michelin stars it has held since 2012 a year later. It operates three “hyper-seasonal” menus ranging from four to nine courses and priced between $225 and $365, with current dishes including tonburi with leeks and avocado, and agedashi tofu with brussel sprouts and basil.
De Nieuwe Winkel – 2 Michelin Stars
Location: Nijmegen, Netherlands Michelin stars: 2, since 2022
Courtesy: De Nieuwe Winkel
Led by chef Emile van der Staak, De Nieuwe Winkel has been around since 2011 and is the only other vegan restaurant with two Michelin stars. Translated as ‘The New Shop’, its ethos lies in “botanical gastronomy” – it looks for applications for edible plants from around the world. In addition, it possesses a Michelin Green star too.
The establishment has three seasonal menus: Awakening (for spring), Growth (summer to fall), and Abundance (for winter), all of which cost €195 – think dishes like a sunflower seed risotto, crispy seaweed with scoby, and a chestnut waffle with nut pâté. In addition to its alcohol pairing, it offers non-alcoholic botanical drinks too.
Seven Swans – 1 Michelin Star
Location: Frankfurt, Germany Michelin stars: 1, since 2015 (retained as a vegan restaurant in 2019)
Courtesy: Seven Swans
Seven Swans gained fame as a vegetarian Michelin-star restaurant before Ricky Saward joined in 2018. As head chef, he cooked exclusively vegan food without publicly declaring it, which prompted him to make the move official. In 2019, the eatery retained its single Michelin star.
The restaurant is all about permaculture – using locally and sustainably grown produce, often from its own garden. Seven Swans offers three a seven-course menu priced at €189 (with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink pairings) and has a Michelin Green Star as well.
KLE – 1 Michelin Star
Location: Zurich, Switzerland Michelin stars: 1, since 2023
Courtesy: KLE
A dinner-only venue, KLE is a pub-style eatery championing Moroccan and Mexican flavours, drawing inspiration from chef-owner Zineb (Zizi) Hattab’s life. It gained a Michelin star in 2023 and serves modern cuisine with an emphasis on regionality and sustainability.
KLE offers three tasting menus (from four to six courses), priced between 109 and 134 francs. Hattab only decided to make the restaurant plant-based a month before opening and serves dishes like Tortellini alla Panna, Kentucky Fried Mushroom, New York-style hot dogs, and more. It also has the Michelin Green star.
Plates London – 1 Michelin Star
Location: London, UK Michelin stars: 1, since 2025
Courtesy: Plates London
The newest entrant on the list, Plates London is owned by siblings Kirk and Keeley Haworth and won its Michelin star just months after reopening in its current location in Shoreditch. Kirk, who has worked at legendary establishments like The French Laundry and Pied à Terre, turned to a plant-based diet after being diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2016. But he doesn’t want to be stuck with the word ‘vegan’, instead, he makes plants sing for themselves.
The £75, seven-course menu – which officially makes it the cheapest place to eat Michelin-starred vegan food – comprises dishes like barbecued maitake mushrooms with black bean mole, a mung bean and urad dal lasagna, and a raw cacao gateau with coconut blossom ice cream.
Among the 22 new one-star UK restaurants in the 2025 Michelin Guide, Plates London stands out as the country’s first 100% vegan eatery to receive the honour.
Barbecued maitake mushrooms, a raw cacao gauteaux, and a mung bean and urad dal lasagna – these are some of the dishes that propelled Plates London to become the UK’s first vegan eatery to receive a Michelin Star.
Helmed by chef-owner Kirk Haworth, who founded the restaurant with his sister Keeley, Plates London was awarded a star in the 2025 Michelin Guide ceremony last night, making it one of 10 new eateries in the British capital to receive the honour.
Plates London joins a handful of plant-based establishments that have a Michelin star across the globe – it’s a distinction that’s hard to come by. Only five entirely vegan restaurants have been awarded a star, with eight designated as Bib Gourmand (recognised for good quality and value), while another 19 are “selected” (honoured for good cooking).
“We’ve always believed in pushing boundaries and this achievement proves that plant-based dining can stand proudly at the highest level of gastronomy,” Kirk and Keeley said in a joint statement, as per the Evening Standard.
A Michelin Guide inspector who visited the restaurant noted that chef Haworth was “clearly passionate” about his work: “As someone who’s going to eat plant-based food for the rest of his life, he’s on a mission to make sure it’s as delicious as possible.”
Plates London officially opened in its current Shoreditch location July 2024, shortly after Haworth won BBC show The Great British Menu. Months later, it appeared in the Michelin Guide, and now, it has received its first star.
Haworth has worked at some of the world’s most prestigious restaurants, including The French Laundry, Pied à Terre, The Square, and Quay Sydney – but he turned to a plant-based diet after being diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2016.
Having gained a Michelin star, ‘plant-based’ isn’t necessarily the tag Haworth wants to be known for. “I’m trying to get rid of the word ‘vegan’, really. It’s all about flavour, excitement, and innovation. We’re taking food to a new place of deliciousness,” he says, echoing the sentiments of several other chefs on the tyre manufacturer’s guide.
The Michelin inspector was left impressed by the “strong culinary technique underpinning all the dishes” at Plates London. “The depth and balance of the dishes was superb; each one came with layers of flavour and texture that all worked together in brilliant harmony,” they said.
“Kirk Haworth is a classically trained chef, and you can see that in his impeccably made sauces; what’s most interesting is how he has adapted this to plant-based ingredients in such a clever way.”
What’s on the Plates London menu?
Courtesy: Plates London
The restaurant changes its menu seasonally, and currently has several of the dishes Haworth presented on The Great British Menu. Like most high-end vegan eateries, there are no meat alternatives seen on the menu – instead, it’s all about produce and whole foods.
Plates London’s £75 seven-course menu begins with a kabocha squash and ginger soup with potato dumpling and herb pesto, followed by slow-cooked leeks with chestnut cream and a jalapeño-gooseberry dressing, and house-laminated sourdough bread with whipped spirulina butter.
“This glistening golden roll was warm and flaky, almost like a croissant in texture with its lovely crisp exterior and soft, slightly sweet interior,” the inspector explained. “The cashew-based butter was enhanced by warming spices and sharp redcurrants to cut through the richness.”
The menu then moves on to a barbecued maitake mushroom dish with black bean mole, kimchi, and puffed rice, and a mung and urad bean lasagna with miso and chive sauce.
Courtesy: Plates London
“After several Inspector visits to Plates in the last year, every one of us came out singing the praises of this exceptional mushroom dish,” noted the Michelin inspector. “The way each layer of flavour and texture married together here was a prime example of everything this kitchen is great at.”
This is followed by a supplementary dish (for an additional £15) featuring caramelised lion’s mane mushrooms, smoked shio koji, bread caramel, cauliflower cream and black truffle jus.
For dessert, the restaurant treats diners with a rice pudding ice cream with rhubarb, beets and mulberries, and a raw cacao gateau with coconut blossom ice cream, sour cherry compote, African pepper, toasted macadamia, and a raw caramel sauce.
Courtesy: Plates London
Which other vegan restaurants have a Michelin star?
“Since it opened, Plates London has been permanently packed – and not just with vegans. The restaurant is full of curious and discerning diners, who are here not because of their diets but because they’ve heard it’s one of the most exciting new restaurants around,” said the Michelin inspector.
“Yes, this is a groundbreaking, unique establishment within the UK’s dining scene. But more than that, it’s just a wonderful restaurant with Michelin-star cooking that could convince the most committed of carnivores.”
It’s a ringing endorsement from the acclaimed food guide, and a marker of its growing acceptance of plant-based cuisine. Plates London is one of very few vegan Michelin-starred eateries, but it’s a category that’s on the rise.
Courtesy: Eleven Madison Park
Perhaps most famous of all is Eleven Madison Park (EMP), which made its name as the world’s best restaurant via delicacies like a honey lavender duck, before doing a 180 and turning to a completely vegan menu (bar the tea and coffee service) in 2021. The New York City eatery retained its three Michelin stars in 2022.
Other that EMP, vegan Michelin-starred restaurants include Seven Swans in Frankurt (one star), KLE in Zurich (one star), and De Nieuwe Winkel in Nijmegen, Netherlands (two stars). New York’s Dirt Candy and Madrid’s El Invernadero, both of which have one star, are vegetarian. And Mia, a one-star restaurant in Bangkok, offers a fully vegan tasting menu.
British fast-food chain Clean Kitchen Club, a formerly vegan business that began serving meat last year, has reportedly ceased operations after closing its last remaining site.
Influencer-owned former vegan restaurant chain Clean Kitchen Club, which started selling animal products in a bid to turn the business around last year, seems to have ceased trading after the closure of its only remaining location in London.
The group’s trading agreement for its Battersea Power Station site was terminated in November after breaches in the lease, its development company told Restaurant Online.
The news comes nearly a year after Clean Kitchen Club announced the closure of its Notting Hill restaurant, just as the Camden location was set to be refurbished. At the time, its owners said they planned to open two more brick-and-mortar stores, and had been mulling an expansion to Dubai too.
Courtesy: Clean Kitchen Club
Co-founder left Clean Kitchen Club after decision to serve meat
Clean Kitchen Club was established by Made in Chelsea star Verity Bowditch and YouTuber Mikey Pearce as a delivery-only service in 2020, selling vegan burgers, plant-based meat bowls, and dairy-free milkshakes. As Covid-19 restrictions lifted, the company shifted to a brick-and-mortar concept in 2021.
It recorded £725,000 in the 12 months after opening the first store in Camden, and was valued at £12M in 2022, before it was injected with a £2.8M investment in a joint seed and crowdfunding round. At one point, it had six locations, including at Notting Hill, Wembley, and Soho, and was catering for brand like Under Armour.
But things took a turn for the worse in 2023-24, a gloomy period for the UK’s hospitality sector, which was still recovering from the pandemic while battling soaring rent and raw material costs.
It led the company to announce its move to add animal-derived foods to the menu in April last year to “protect jobs and protect the company”. “We’ve had a really tough, tough year. We’ve had to work incredibly hard, and the proposition of the brand that we have to change is going from 100% plant-based menu to a much more whole food approach catering for everyone,” the owners explained in a now-deleted Instagram post.
The decision was met with pushback from customers online. And while agreeing that it may open the business up to more revenue opportunities, Bowditch – a lifelong vegetarian turned vegan – stepped down from the group. “I’m so passionate about animal welfare, I can’t physically be part of something that isn’t fully plant-based,” she said.
But nine months on, Clean Kitchen Club’s website is no longer operational, and its Instagram account has been idle since July.
There were hints of its demise in November, when BrewDog co-founder James Watt said he lost “every single penny” of the £150,000 investment he made in Clean Kitchen Club 2020. “Unfortunately, the business did not quite make it,” he wrote. “This loss remains, the single largest sum that I have ever lost on a single investment.”
Clean Kitchen Club isn’t the only UK restaurant to have pivoted away from a 100% plant-based menu. In January 2024, Macclesfield-based Nomas Gastrobar began serving meat and dairy after being a fully vegan eatery since opening in 2021.
Likewise, Bristol-based group Oowie, which had been expanding with a vegan-only approach, is now focusing on growing its diner-style restaurants with meat. In October, it turned a plant-based location into one serving animal products.
Across the Atlantic, too, a host of restaurants are doing the same. In Los Angeles, Sage Regenerative Kitchen – a well-established former vegan chain that turned to “regeneratively farmed meat” – closed down earlier this month.
Back in the UK, restaurants are closing faster than they have in more than a decade – over 1,400 eateries shut their doors in the year ending September 30, 2024, a 19.4% increase from the period 12 months prior. And rising ingredient, utility and rental costs have put more than 10% at an “imminent” risk of closure.
In the last 12 months, fellow vegan fast-food restaurants The Vurger Co, Frost Burgers, Donner Summer, and JJ’s Vish and Chips all closed their doors, while Flower Burger exited the UK market and Lewis Hamilton-backed Neat shuttered half its locations. And just the month, Earthling Ed’s Unity Diner announced its imminent closure on February 1.
Meanwhile, Deliciously Ella also closed its upscale Plants by DE eatery in Mayfair following its acquisition by Hero Group in September, despite the restaurant not being part of the deal.
More and more US universities are making it easier for students to go vegan, but many still lack concrete plant-based goals, according to a new protein sustainability scorecard.
University scorecards have long been a handy tool for prospective students to figure out which institutions are best suited to their needs. But aside from tuition costs and curricula, there are several other factors that can influence the decision, such as the sustainability initiatives and food on offer.
To help navigate this, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has released its first College and University Protein Sustainability Scorecard, which ranks 39 institutions based on how planet-friendly their dining halls are.
Inspired by its foodservice sustainability report, the scorecard is designed to showcase which higher education institutions are making progress in expanding plant-based dining options and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, the food system accounts for a third of all emissions, with meat and dairy production accounting for 57% of this footprint (twice as much as plant-based foods).
Since college dining operations serve millions of meals a year, adding meat-free options and reducing animal products can play a major role in mitigating the impacts of climate change.
“More than a third of Gen Z members are limiting their meat consumption in some way, and over half prefer institutions that similarly prioritise lowering their food-related environmental impacts in operational standards,” noted Kitty Block, CEO of Humane Society International and HSUS.
“It’s no surprise, then, that when it comes to which college or university to attend, these students are assessing prospective schools based on their demonstrated commitment to creating healthier, animal-friendly and sustainable menus,” she added.
For the scorecard, HSUS focused on universities that have self-operated dining programmes and are not contracted with a foodservice management company. The institutions were evaluated not just for their climate goals, but also for how they’re prioritising food sustainability through concrete, evidence-based strategies.
Which universities have the most sustainable food options?
Courtesy: UNT Dining Services
With an overall score of 360 (the maximum possible), the University of Colorado Boulder came out on top of the Protein Sustainability Scorecard. At least half of all meals here are plant-based, and it has a goal to increase this share to 75% by the end of 2025. The institute also offers vegan options at every station, with chefs working with registered dietitians.
Only three others received an A+ score. The University of North Texas, home to the country’s first fully vegan campus dining hall, received a score of 340. Between 41-45% of its fare is plant-based, with a target of reaching 50% by the end of the year.
“By prioritising a variety of plant-based foods, we aim to accommodate dietary preferences, enhance inclusivity, and ensure all students have access to nutritious, eco-friendly meals,” said Matthew Ward, an executive chef at the University of North Texas.
In the same state, the University of Texas at Austin scored 325, with 46-50% of food already plant-based. It’s also piloting blended burgers and replacing dairy and eggs with vegan alternatives. HSUS recommends that both thee institutions should use data collection to measure sales of vegan food and explore making plant proteins the default option.
The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, meanwhile, came fourth with 315 points, with at least half of its meals already vegan, a share that’s set to rise to 55% this year. It tracks the emissions from food purchased and tracked, provides vegan options at every meal, and is actively increasing the availability of non-dairy milk across its operations.
Seven institutions received an A grade, including the University of Arizona (which has a mostly vegan dining hall), Washington State University (which offers culinary training for staff and student education sessions with dietitians), and Rutgers University (which has added carbon footprint labels to its menus).
Which institutions fell short on climate-friendly food targets?
Courtesy: UNT Dining Services
On the other end of the scorecard were Kennesaw State University, Texas Tech University, and Utah Valley University, all of which received an F grade. These were among a number of institutions that didn’t respond to HSUS’s survey, prompting the organisation to rank them based on publicly available information.
The non-profit recommended each of these universities update their websites for full transparency. “If the institution does not have any targets around increasing plant-based menu offerings or reducing animal protein purchases, we recommend starting with a public, measurable plant-based goal and timeline and increased transparency on food-related sustainability efforts,” HSUS said.
Iowa State University of Science and Technology and Purdue University both received a D grade (with 20 points), while five others achieved a D+.
The Pennsylvania State University, with a score of 80 and a C grade, had previously set a target to increase the proportion of plant-based meals to 35% by this year. But that pledge was rescinded soon after, with the institution setting internal, campus-wide sustainability goals instead. It’s why it opted out of participating in this year’s survey.
Of the higher education institutes that did participate in the HSUS survey, the University of Oklahoma had the lowest score (85, a C grade). All dining locations feature at least one plant-based option, with the share of vegan meals at a low 5-9%.
“For those schools that fell short, we encourage them to join our efforts in creating a healthier, more sustainable food system by prioritising plant-based menu items and thereby investing in the future of their students – in this and every generation to come,” said Block.
Kate Watts, HSUS director of foodservice innovation, added: “Now more than ever, students are demanding meal options that are healthier for themselves and the environment. Colleges and universities have a responsibility to meet these demands, be transparent about their sustainability targets for prospective and current students, and work to reduce their environmental impact.”
The Austrian government will launch a vegan and vegetarian culinary apprenticeship in July, months after championing plant-based foods in its dietary guidelines.
After nearly 18 months of negotiations between key stakeholders, Austria is finally set to kickstart a meat-free culinary apprenticeship programme later this year.
As part of Austria’s green economy plan, the Ministry of Labour and Economy (BMAW) has announced that the three-year training scheme will begin in July, aiming to equip people who want to work with future-facing foods with the skills to thrive in the gastronomy and catering sector.
It follows the publication of a draft regulation from Martin Kocher, the country’s labour minister, referring to the apprenticeship in June. Details are still being eked out for the Specialist in Vegetarian Cuisine, including whether it would be fully plant-based, but it marks an important step in Austria’s commitment to the protein transition.
A long effort designed to train the chefs of tomorrow
Courtesy: Kerstin Brueller/Vegan.at
Efforts to launch the apprenticeship were initiated by Joachim Ivany of the Green Economy, a parliamentary group in the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and Industry that describes itself as “the mouthpiece for entrepreneurs”. He was supported by the Vegan Society of Austria, and renowned local chefs like Siegfried Kröpfl and Jonathan Wittenbrink.
The idea of a ministerial decree for the apprenticeship was met with resistance from some quarters, including the Federal Vocational Training Advisory Board. But after more than a year of negotiations, Kocher published the draft regulations last summer, which was then followed by a four-week assessment phase.
A commission of experts was then set to decide the precise food names, recipes and examination documents used in the apprenticeship – but discussions stalled shortly after, leading to a petition signed by over 1,600 members of the public. This prompted the government to speed things up, finally signing the decree.
Ivany, who owns a vegetarian restaurant in Vienna, has previously suggested that more than a quarter of young Austrians recruited as skilled workers in the catering industry are now vegan or vegetarian. Adding to the argument for a training course, he pointed out how there were hundreds of restaurants across Austria that specialised in meat-free cuisine.
According to the BMAW, the apprenticeship will involve both regional and international dishes – think terrines, meat and fish analogues, basic sauce and their derivatives, dough-based items like strudels and shortcut pastry, and dumplings.
Participants will also be trained to master various cooking methods – from poaching and braising to pickling and smoking – manage inventory and orders, prepare service staff, and cater to allergies and intolerances.
“The introduction of the apprenticeship to become a specialist in vegetarian cuisine is a milestone – not only for the catering industry in general, but also for businesses that specialise in vegan or vegetarian cuisine,” Ivany said in July.
Austria digs deep into plant-based
Courtesy: Kerstin Brueller/Vegan.at
A survey by the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt found that among Austrians aged 30-39, nearly one in five (19%) are vegetarian, and 5% are vegan. This is much higher than those aged 50 and above, where meat-free eating patterns are only followed by 2-6% of people. The demand for plant-based meat is also significantly greater in younger age groups.
And a 2024 study by the Good Food Institute Europe revealed that 30% of Austrians want to increase their consumption of plant-based meat over the next two years.
“The catering industry is happy about every new apprenticeship that has the potential to inspire people to join the industry,” said Mario Pulker, chairman of the catering association in the federal economic chamber (WKO).
“The domestic catering industry is constantly changing and adapting to the current trends and needs of guests. Existing additional training courses with vegetarian-vegan teaching content are already well-received and in demand,” he added. “The new apprenticeship can help to strengthen this aspect even further and counteract the current shortage of skilled workers.”
An example of successful meatless apprenticeships comes from the Vegan Society of Austria, whose Vegucation programme has been training hundreds of students on plant-based products, marketing, and their health, climate and animal benefits for the last 12 years. The scheme has trained over 300 teachers who have gone on to become vegan chefs at nine of Austria’s 11 vocational schools.
“Every year, young people at 135 schools across Austria benefit from the plant-based content: in the 2023-24 school year, over 400 students successfully completed the Vegucation training and are proud owners of the ‘Vegan-Vegetarian Specialist’ certificate,” said Vegucation director Lisa Klein.
The new government-backed apprenticeship comes just months after the health ministry updated the national dietary guidelines, which now call for a shift away from animal-based foods. They’re based on a plate model, with 50% vegetables and fruits, 25% whole grains, and the rest protein – mostly from plants. Taking into consideration both health and environmental impacts, legumes and their products now have their own dedicated section.
Months after adding meat to its menu, California’s formerly vegan restaurant Sage Regenerative Kitchen has shuttered its remaining locations.
One of California’s most prominent vegan eateries, Sage Plant Bistro & Brewery shifted gears in April last year. Facing a host of financial struggles, the restaurant decided to add ‘regeneratively farmed’ meat and dairy to its menu, changing its name to Sage Regenerative Kitchen.
It sparked an enormous backlash from customers, animal rights groups, as well as its own employees. The Instagram post announcing the move was flooded with criticism for what was until then a beacon of plant-based dining in Southern California.
But nine months after announcing the shift, the restaurant has closed its remaining locations in Echo Park and Pasadena. Its final day of service was Sunday, January 5, making it the latest vegan casualty in the area’s hospitality sector.
Decision to add meat to menu unpopular with diners
The Echo Park site was Sage’s first eatery, established back in 2011. Known for its Brazilian bowl, buffalo cauliflower, tofu breakfast burritos, and vegan pizzas, the restaurant became hugely popular over the next decade, opening two other locations, as well as a cloud kitchen.
But the business – operated by Mollie Engelhart and her husband Elias Sosa – has been fraught with financial challenges for the last few years. In 2023, it had outstanding rent and taxes, prompting the owners to close the cloud kitchen and the site in Agoura Hills. The couple also sold their home in California “in hopes of breathing new life into Sage”, according to the announcement of the closure.
The decision to add meat and dairy to the menu was spurred by Engelhart and Sosa’s passion for regenerative agriculture (they have a restaurant, The Barn, at their Sovereignty Ranch farm in Texas). It meant that the previously plant-based menu now featured items like pasture-raised, grass-fed bison, beef, wild boar, chicken, and eggs, beef tallow fries, and dairy cheese.
The move was met with outrage, both online and in person. “How can a business go from promoting compassion and sustainability to this? Regenerative Agriculture is a SHAM if it involves animals,” PETA wrote on Instagram. “This is such a huge betrayal to animals, the Earth, and your customers.”
Monty’s Good Burger, another popular vegan chain in the area, commented: “I am very aware of the struggle for restaurants, especially plant-based ones. Being a fan and inspired by Sage and Molly, I must have subconsciously justified the business aspect of this decision. But… what the f*ck is this post? This is pure unbridled propaganda that has been consistently backed, distributed and funded by big AG for the past 15 years.”
Speaking to Bon Appetit shortly after the move, Engelhart said she had been a lifelong vegetarian. “I was raised in this lifestyle,” she said. “I believe that I made a mistake. What I believed before is not what I believe now.”
Asked for her take on the pushback, she said: “When we identify with anything as our personality or as our identity, anything that pushes up against that is scary. We will reject it and try to tear it down so that the personality can stay intact.”
Sage is LA’s latest vegan casualty
Regenerative farming, focused on soil restoration and ecosystem health, has exploded in popularity in recent years, propelled by documentaries like Kiss the Ground, its sequel Common Ground, and Feeding Tomorrow. In fact, Engelhart sits on the board of Kiss the Ground, the non-profit the 2020 film is based on, which was co-founded by her brother.
But climate activists have pointed out that the lack of clear legal standards around regenerative agriculture has allowed meat and dairy producers to “co-opt the term to greenwash harmful practices”. It’s an accusation Engelhart has previously rejected.
One user commenting on the April 2024 post predicted Sage’s fortunes: “The LA vegan restaurant > adds meat to the menu to boost profits > shutters anyway pipeline.”
Sage isn’t the only former vegan restaurant in Los Angeles to add animal proteins to its menu – Hot Tongue Pizza, Elf Cafe, Burgerlords, and Margo’s have all taken the same measure in the last year or so.
Courtesy: Taylor Bescoby
“We all poured our passion into shifting the concept to regenerative agriculture, but despite our efforts, we find ourselves in the same predicament today,” Sage wrote on Instagram on New Year’s Day. The post was flooded with a swathe of negative comments from people critical of the menu shift.
In an interview with Eater LA, Engelhart rued the reaction to the move, calling it a “sad victory” for vegans who protested it. “I think that Sage closing is a reflection of how disconnected we are from our food systems,” she said. “What will come into Sage that’s going to be better for the animals, better for the farmers, and better for the community than I was?”
Sage’s closure comes amid a torrid time for Los Angeles restaurants, especially those that are (or used to be) vegan. In 2024, Vegan Drip Burger, Shojin, Nic’s on Beverly, Flore Vegan, Jewel, Matthew Kenney’s VEG’D, and Kevin Hart’s Hart House all shut their doors. Cafe Gratitude, another prominent vegan chain (owner by Engelhart’s father), has closed locations in recent years.
Thin margins and high labour and material costs are key reasons for this – despite the cost of meat climbing faster than plant-based alternatives, the latter products remain 38% more expensive in the US. And in 2023, pound sales of meat analogues dipped by 8% in the foodservice sector, versus a 4% drop for conventional meat.
Frequently named one of London’s best vegan restaurants, Earthling Ed-owned Unity Diner is set to close after Veganuary due to rising costs.
While Veganuary is usually a celebratory month for plant-based businesses, it spells a bittersweet end for one of London’s most beloved vegan restaurants.
Unity Diner, an eatery and cocktail bar veganising fast-food classics, will close its doors on February 1 after more than six years of operations, becoming the latest casualty in the UK’s embattled hospitality sector.
Co-owned by animal activist and vegan influencer Ed Winters – popularly known as Earthling Ed – the restaurant’s news has been met with an outpouring of grief from customers and fellow restauranteurs.
Post-Covid struggles and increased rent lead to closure
Founded in 2018, Unity Diner was located at a smaller spot in Hoxton in east London, before moving to a larger site in nearby Aldgate to keep up with popular demand.
The restaurant serves classics like vegan lobster mac and cheese, prime flank steak, double bacon cheeseburger, and its flagship beer-battered tofish and chips, alongside desserts like tiramisu and crème brûlée. Its cocktail menu includes Vegan Propaganda (inspired by Winters’s 2022 book), Piers Morgan’s Tears, and Pumpkin Spice Old Fashioned.
The restaurant says it uses plastic-free, fully biodegradable straws, takeaway containers, and coffee cups, while staff uniforms are made with 100% organic cotton and chemical-free vegan ink.
It has over 40,000 followers on Instagram, demonstrating its popularity in the London vegan ecosystem. But in a statement posted to the social media platform on December 30, Unity Diner confirmed it was closing after price hikes in a hospitality environment still reeling from the effects of Covid-19.
“Sadly, we’ve not been spared from the economic situation affecting the hospitality sector here in the UK, and with soaring costs since Covid and our landlords now wanting to increase the rent, the time has sadly come for us to call it a day,” it wrote.
Part of Unity Diner’s profits go directly towards animal rights work, and led to the creation of Surge Sanctuary in 2020. It will remain open during Veganuary 2025 to “celebrate everything we’ve achieved” and continue to raise money for the animal welfare charity, and urged fans to support it if they can by becoming a monthly donor.
Courtesy: Unity Diner
A troubled time for British restaurants
Unity Diner’s decision to shut comes amid a turbulent time for the UK’s hospitality sector, where restaurants are closing at the fastest rate in over a decade. According to accounting firm Price Bailey, over 1,400 eateries shut their doors in the year ending September 30, 2024, a 19.4% increase from the period 12 months prior.
Meanwhile, a fifth of all UK restaurants have negative net assets on their balance sheets, while more than 10% are at an “imminent” risk of closure, thanks to soaring ingredient, utility and rental prices.
It has impacted several vegan eateries in the UK. In the last 12 months, Clean Kitchen Club shut its Notting Hill location in London, just as The Vurger Co closed all its sites. The same was true for Harmonium in Ediburgh, Frost Burgers in Liverpool, Donner Summer in Sheffield, and JJ’s Vish and Chips in Manchester, among others.
Flower Burger, meanwhile, exited the British market in September, and Neat – the plant-based burger chain backed by Lewis Hamilton – shut five of its nine locations in London. And following its acquisition by Hero Group in September, Deliciously Ella closed its upscale Mayfair eatery Plants by DE, despite the restaurant not being part of the deal.
The announcement by Unity Diner – whose sister eatery in Brighton, No Catch, remains open – has left many of its customers heartbroken. “I’m so sad,” wrote one Instagram user. “But thank you so much for being here for the last six years. You have brought to much to the London vegan scene and we will miss you enormously.”
Fellow vegan restaurant owners echoed the sentiment. Dauns, the Scandinavian eatery across the street from Unity Diner, called it “very sad news”. And Alexis Gauthier, owner of Gauthier Soho and 123Vegan, offered to help. “This is so so sad! You are doing so much for raising awareness in animal welfare. Surely something can be done,” he wrote.
Israeli plant-based meat pioneer Redefine Meat has struck over 30 partnerships with UK retailers, foodservice operators and schools for Veganuary.
On the back of a record year for its UK operation, Redefine Meat is taking things up a notch for the world’s biggest plant-based campaign.
For Veganuary, the month-long challenge where participants eat a vegan diet, the Israeli 3D-printed meat maker has signed deals with more than 30 companies to drive plant-based consumption in the UK.
It includes a partnership with online grocer Ocado, where its year-on-year revenue has tripled. Redefine Meat is running a 50% discount for a range of its retail products, including its burger, pulled pork, pulled beef, bratwurst, lamb kofta, and mince.
And through a Taste It to Believe It campaign, the plant-based meat pioneer is hoping to entice “the next generation of meat-eaters”, collaborating with schools in an effort to dispel qualms about the taste attributes of vegan analogues.
Make a splash in schools, offices and restaurants
Courtesy: Redefine Meat
Allmanhall, the food procurement group for the education sector, has teamed up with Redefine Meat to put its Brighter Burger on school menus across the UK. It comprised a Redefine Premium Burger patty encased in a bun made from regeneratively grown flour from Wildfarmed and ketchup from Rubies in the Rubble, and generates 94% fewer emissions than a conventional beef burger.
Redefine Meat had worked with Allmanhall to pilot its Premium Burger at Epsom College last year, and 74% of participating students said they’d like to see it on the menu all year round. Now, the Brighter Burger has been made available for schools as a trial or permanent dish throughout Veganuary.
The school focus is shrewd – 9% of Gen Zers in the UK say they’re vegan, and over a quarter (26%) don’t eat meat. With another 26% intending to follow either a plant-based, vegetarian or pescetarian diet, over half of Gen Z Brits could potentially stop eating meat.
Meanwhile, the Israeli company has partnered with caterer ISS, which will serve dishes like smashed lamb burgers, cottage pie, and loaded hotdogs at nine of its contract partners across sectors including banking, government and industry. Employees will see the specific carbon emissions saved by each dish, calculated by Klimato, and be educated on the sustainability impact of eating Redefine Meat just once a week.
In the restaurant space, London-based burger chain Patty & Bun will throw a Quitter’s Day Party on January 10 (when about 80% of people give up on their New Year’s resolutions). Here, it will serve three versions of its signature burgers with Redefine Meat’s patty and zero-ABV beer to help guests stick to Veganuary and Dry January.
Redefine Meat will also appear as a gourmet option on the delivery menu of cloud kitchen operator Dirty Vegan, and feature in a variety of cuisines with over 20 restaurant partners, from traditional roast dinners to ramen.
Overcoming the ‘two biggest barriers’
Courtesy: Redefine Meat
Following a deal with pub chain Greene King, Redefine Meat’s 3D-printed products are now available at 1,000 restaurant locations in the UK, a market where its overall sales have doubled this year.
The company markets its products as New Meat, which spans beef, pork and lamb in pulled, minced, sausage, burger and whole-cut formats. They’re made in a factory in the Netherlands, undergoing a tissue engineering process that disintegrates textured vegetable protein (TVP) into fibres and blends them with a dough made from soy or pea protein isolates. This gives them a meatier flavour and the fibrous texture key to animal protein.
Its signature Beef Flank steak has been endorsed by leading chefs like Marco Pierre-White and Ron Blaauw, and is said to have won plaudits from consumers of all dietary preferences.
“Having achieved the quality benchmark required by high-end and Michelin-star chefs who love their meat, and built that out with the most diverse product range in the industry, Redefine Meat has overcome the two biggest barriers that have stalled repeat-buying of plant-based meat in recent years: lack of product quality and product variety,” said Simon Owen, UK managing director of Redefine Meat.
“This is exemplified by the diversity of our Veganuary collaborations, serving the needs of everyday diners through to fine-dining restaurants, hotels and catering, corporates, and mass retail. Following a record-breaking year in the UK of 97% sales growth, this Veganuary we’re expecting New Meat to reach more consumers than ever before.”
India’s foodservice sector is a major opportunity for plant-based brands, but better education and menu integration are needed to increase consumer demand for meat analogues.
Low awareness and common misconceptions contribute to a lack of demand for plant-based meat in India, leaving a big foodservice opportunity gap for vegan brands.
That’s the conclusion of a new report by the Good Food Institute (GFI) India, which addresses the challenges hindering the potential of meat alternatives in India’s restaurant industry, and what companies need to do to overcome them.
Titled ‘The Next Course: Reimagining Smart Protein’, the report was unveiled at an event featuring representatives from McDonald’s, the National Restaurant Association of India, and hotel group InterContinental, as well as plant-based brands like Blue Tribe, GoodDot, Plantway, and others.
Following in-depth interviews with chefs, restaurant owners, marketers and industry leaders, GFI India found that plant-based meats need to be integrated into local cuisines to help position them as tasty and indulgent offerings on foodservice menus, and recommended strategies such as chef collaboration and consumer education initiatives.
“The food service industry has always played a key role in introducing newer cuisines and ingredients to Indian households and holds immense potential to drive the adoption of plant-based proteins among consumers as well,” said Sneha Singh, managing director of GFI India.
“India’s rich culinary heritage and dynamic dining out market make it uniquely positioned to lead a transformative shift in the way we eat and pave the way for a more sustainable and inclusive food ecosystem,” she added.
Cloud kitchens, cuisines and labelling in focus
Courtesy: GFI India
By 2028, India’s foodservice industry is set to trail only the US and China, a growth fuelled by the rise of urbanisation, the demand for convenience, and lifestyle changes.
The GFI India report suggests that Mumbai is the vegan capital of India, home to 37% of restaurants serving plant-based meat across eight metropolises. Bangalore (20%) and New Delhi (19%) round up the top three.
Meanwhile, casual dining eateries account for 35% of all restaurants serving meat analogues, followed by cafés and cloud kitchens (21%) – the latter particularly offers enormous potential thanks to the rise in food delivery.
Cloud kitchens also serve more plant-based meat dishes on average (5.3) than casual dining establishments (4.9) and cafés (4.4), and represent the cheapest price for dishes with meat alternatives (₹357/$4.21 on average). In contrast, these dishes have a price tag of ₹665 ($7.85) in fine dining establishments.
Courtesy: GFI India
Notably, the most popular ways to incorporate these proteins into dishes skew Western and snacky. Burgers and wraps alone make up 43% of these items, with pizzas and hot dogs accounting for another 26%. “Foodservice establishments can expand their appeal by integrating plant-based meat into local and regional Indian cuisines and dishes, thereby tapping into a broader consumer base,” the report suggests.
Similarly, labelling is a critical opportunity too. Half of these dishes are labelled as ‘vegan’, while under a quarter (23%) feature the term ‘plant-based’, despite research proving that consumers prefer the latter.
“Increasingly, positioning dishes as ‘high-protein’ and ‘plant-based protein’ is resonating with consumers,” the report states. “Taking the route of deprivation with terms like ‘meatless’ doesn’t appeal to consumers, particularly meat-eaters who are seeking taste and indulgence when dining out.”
What’s holding restaurants back?
Courtesy: GoodDo
The research identified two main barriers to the adoption of plant-based meat in the Indian foodservice landscape. The first is a “lack of consumer demand”: few locals are asking about or requesting these options when dining out, part of a larger consumer awareness issue in the country.
Even among those aware of these foods, there are questions about their relevance in their lives. Previous research by GFI India and Kantar has found that Indians over 45 feel alternative proteins are not relevant to them, adding to population-wide concerns about perceived ‘unnaturalness’, lack of clarity on health benefits, and taste and price.
Meat-eaters are already choosing conventional meat dishes, while both vegetarians and vegans have sufficient options available on restaurant menus, and so many foodservice establishments don’t see an incentive in educating diners and adding new meat alternatives to their plates.
Pranav Rungta, vice-president of the National Restaurant Association of India, noted: “The real barrier is not the lack of awareness but the need for a mindset change. With the foodservice industry growing and becoming more organised, educated restaurateurs who understand the impact of health, nutrition, and alternative proteins are also growing.”
The second hurdle is within the kitchens. While most chefs are familiar with the category, not everyone is well-briefed on the production process of meat alternatives, or their associated health benefits. Restaurants prioritising local and seasonal ingredients consider plant-based meats processed and not in line with their ethos or their target consumers.
“Busting myths around the processed nature of plant-based meat, along with creating awareness about the ingredients, processes, and health benefits, can help dispel some of the misconceptions,” the report reads. It further points to tie-ups with culinary schools and chef forums as a means to educate and improve awareness.
How plant-based meat brands can appeal to restaurants
Courtesy: Rollin’ Plantz
There are a host of ways for Indian vegan meat manufacturers to land on restaurant menus. Prioritising taste as the main selling point and co-creating recipes with chefs should help, but so too will the understanding that each restaurant is different – customising products, recipes, pricing, and positioning to suit businesses’ needs is crucial.
For example, products that can be used as ingredients in their recipes are preferred over ready-to-cook formats. Chunks and minced meat tend to be the favoured products, as they can be used nearly as efficiently as their animal-derived counterparts in creating multiple menu items.
Leveraging the price premium at fine dining and specialty restaurants over QSRs could also be a winning strategy. That said, vegetarian dishes are usually always cheaper than meat-based options in India, so pricing plant-based meat on par with other vegetarian dishes at foodservice establishments is more prudent, both from a customer and restaurant standpoint.
Foodservice operators that have used plant-based meat have also taken issue with consistency in product sourcing, with some brands stopping supply without much notice, which needs to be addressed. Additionally, marketing these dishes together with the restaurant through on-table and in-store displays helps spread the word further.
“Plant-based brands have to look at themselves not as product suppliers but as solutions providers,” said Romil Ratra, CEO of Graviss Hospitality and co-founder of vegan company Plantaway. “Brands and food service businesses both have their own unique visions, and decisions on these partnerships often come down to price.”
Thanks to a collaboration with Greene King, Redefine Meat’s 3D-printed meat alternatives are now available at 1,000 UK restaurants, in a year when domestic sales have shot up by 100%.
Israeli food tech startup Redefine Meat is capping off a “record year” with a listing at Greene King, a 225-year-old British pub chain, which will serve its premium vegan flank steak at 70 sites.
It marks the 3D-printed meat innovator’s availability at 1,000 restaurant locations in the UK, where its foodservice sales have nearly doubled this year. At the same time, the company’s year-on-year revenue at Ocado – its first retail listing in the country – has grown by 150%.
“Celebrating our 1000th UK site through our new Greene King partnership, we believe we’ve hit a major milestone for the UK foodservice industry – one where high-quality plant-based options that taste delicious, are increasingly becoming a mainstream consumer preference,” says Simon Owen, Redefine Meat’s UK managing director.
Redefine Meat’s tech has left chefs and customers impressed
Courtesy: Redefine Meat/Green Queen
One of the best-known plant-based companies, Redefine Meat markets its 3D-printed products as New Meat, with a diverse range of beef, pork and lamb alternatives that are available in formats like pulled, mince, sausages, burgers, and whole cuts. They can be found at over 4,000 foodservice locations in 10 countries, plus retailers in several European markets.
Its flagship product is the Beef Flank, positioned as a premium, chef-led whole-cut steak. It’s made from a base of wheat, soy and potato protein, complemented by soy and wheat flours, rapeseed oil, cornstarch, natural flavourings, maltodextrin, barley malt, salt, and colourings.
Redefine Meat’s products undergo a patented additive manufacturing process – more commonly known as 3D printing – at a factory in the Netherlands, which gives them a meatier flavour and the fibrous texture so devoured by meat-eaters. It calls the process ‘Plant-Based Tissue Engineering’, a reference to how it disintegrates textured vegetable protein (TVP) into fibres and blends them with a dough made from soy or pea protein isolates.
“This approach allows the projection of the meat-like texture of TVP, but in a flexible manner, and in a scalable manner,” the company explained in a white paper in February. “The muscle component is reassembled to mimic the anisotropic fibrous structure of beef, while the fat component is engineered through lipid encapsulation within a hydrocolloid matrix.”
For Europeans, taste is the major driver of plant-based meat, with 53% saying so in a 10-country survey last year. And in the UK, 51% of consumers say flavour and texture are the main reasons why they’re cutting back on meat alternatives, with 66% feeling products from some brands taste much worse than others.
But Redefine Meat’s plant-based flank steak has been endorsed by leading chefs like Marco Pierre-White and Ron Blaauw, and is said to have won plaudits from consumers of all dietary preferences.
“We’ve found that chefs really value the ability to co-develop New Meat products with us, something we’re not seeing with other plant-based suppliers,” notes Owen. “This enables us to respond to their customer’s specific preferences, whether that’s elevating existing plant-based menus, or introducing foodservice locations to the category for the first time.”
Capitalising on the foodservice demand for plant-based
Courtesy: Redefine Meat
Redefine Meat argues that the whole-cut vegan steak offers Greene King a new market and key competitive advantages through product quality and service versatility. The Beef Flank alone is now featured on the menus of 200 UK restaurant sites, including Albion, Gusto, Dirty Vegan Burgers, and Stonegate Group, the country’s largest pub chain.
“Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen an important shift in the global foodservice industry with many iconic brands transitioning their plant-based menus to more premium-quality options,” says Owen.
In the Netherlands, for example, volume sales of meat analogues in foodservice increased by 111% between 2021 and 2023, against a 2% decline for conventional meat in the same period. And in the US, a market Redefine Meat is yet to enter, foodservice pound sales of plant proteins were 25% higher than pre-pandemic levels last year, with half of these attributed to vegan meats that replicate the taste, texture and experience of animal proteins.
“Having broken through the quality barrier of the plant-based industry, we began our journey in fine dining and Michelin-star restaurants ensuring a superior ‘eating’ experience,” says Owen.
“In transitioning to retail, this top-down approach has also been crucial to ensuring our differentiation by bringing chef-quality New Meat directly to consumers. As is the ability to give foodservice leaders like Greene King access to a diverse product range beyond just minced-based products, but also pulled meats and whole cuts,” he continues.
“In the UK, we’re ready to support this local growth thanks to our large-scale state-of-the-art facility in the Netherlands. For customers such as Greene King, this facility ensures that as the market grows, they know that we can meet their requirements.
“While the overall plant-based market has gone through a challenging period of consolidation, 2024 has been a year of strong growth for Redefine Meat, and we’re excited for the year ahead.”
Beyond Meat and Wendy’s Georgia have announced a new menu item, the Plant Burger, a marker of the vegan giant’s European focus this year.
Californian plant-based pioneer Beyond Meat has struck its latest QSR partnership with fast-food giant Wendy’s, which is launching a vegan burger in Georgia.
The Wendy’s Plant Burger will be rolled out at all 19 of the chain’s stores in the Eurasian country on Saturday (November 23). It is unclear whether the bun or mayo used are vegan-friendly, but the menu item will be available for a limited time, while supplies last.
The collaboration was facilitated by the Wissol Group, which is a Wendy’s franchisee in several markets in the region, and Gastronome, a Tbilisi-based food business that represents Beyond Meat in Georgia.
“We’re proud to be partnering with Wendy’s Georgia to introduce our plant-based meat to a new market,” said Hameed Jagani, VP of global strategic partnerships at Beyond Meat.
Wendy’s Beyond Meat burger aimed at meeting ‘local demand’
Courtesy: Beyond Meat/Wendy’s
The Plant Burger, which was unveiled in a launch ceremony yesterday, features Beyond Meat’s signature beef patty at the centre, and is topped with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, ketchup and mayo.
“The Wendy’s plant-based meat burger offers the same great taste and texture customers have come to expect, no sacrifice required,” remarked Jagani. “This partnership aligns with our mission to make plant-based eating more accessible for consumers around the world.”
Wissol Group president Samson Pkhakadze added: “Wendy’s Georgia and Beyond Meat share a commitment and mutual passion for food quality and corporate social responsibility. We’re excited to deliver on Wendy’s Quality is our Recipe promise by offering customers a wider range of choices.”
He noted the partnership “will allow Wendy’s Georgia to cater to the local demand for vegetarian and flexitarian options, providing even more choices for today’s conscious consumers”. According to one survey, six in 10 university students are interested in trying new plant-based foods.
“By partnering with Beyond Meat, we can provide a plant-based meat offering that tastes great and can help make a positive impact,” Pkhakadze said.
“Georgia is the first country in the world to offer this incredible product at Wendy’s, and we are so proud to be part of this milestone,” said Lika Shalikashvili, head of imports and logistics at Gastronome. “We look forward to seeing this project succeed not only in Georgia but as a model of success that can inspire the rest of the world.”
Georgia launch a sign of Beyond Meat’s European focus
Courtesy: Samson Pkhakadze/LinkedIn
Entering the Georgian market is an extension of one of Beyond Meat’s top business priorities this year: investment into its European expansion. “We just don’t have that large of a presence out in Europe at the moment,” the company’s COO, Lubi Kutua, had told investors in its Q2 earnings call.
One of its biggest successes has come through its deal with McDonald’s. The world’s largest restaurant chain has made waves with the McPlant burger, which has been a catalyst for Beyond Meat’s European growth. The McPlant (alongside several variants) is also available as a permanent menu item in Austria, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia, the Baltics, the UK and Ireland.
In Germany, Europe’s largest plant-based market, the McPlant was part of the Famous Order meal promotion, featuring on menus curated by Tokio Hotel members Bill and Tom Kaulitz. Meanwhile, has boosted its retail performance here by tweaking its product formulations to satisfy local shelf-life requirements. “With a clear caution that it is very early days, we are seeing encouraging initial sell-through in this important market,” CEO Ethan Brown said in the latest earnings call.
In addition, it launched the Beyond Steak at retail in Belgium and for foodservice in the Netherlands (where it also rolled out the Beyond Smash and Beyond Burger Jalapeño), and expanded the availability of its signature burger at Coop stores in the UK.
While Beyond Meat’s chicken hasn’t performed as strongly in Europe, the company is aiming to change that with the rollout of Veggie McPlant Nuggets at McDonald’s France last month. The vegan nuggets are also a permanent menu item in Germany.
That said, Beyond Meat’s foodservice record is somewhat patchy. Its deal with Yum! Brands, for example, saw short-lived partnerships with Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell, while the McPlant famously failed to gain ground in the US. Meanwhile, international foodservice was the only channel where its revenues continued to slip last quarter, largely due to “decreased sales of burger and chicken products to a large QSR customer in the EU”.
So by entering a new market and a new fast-food partnership, Beyond Meat is looking to turn its global foodservice sales in the same direction as the rest of its business, where year-on-year revenue grew for the first time in two years in the July to September period.
Luxury hotel group Four Seasons has teamed up with Israel’s Oshi to put its plant-based whole-cut salmon on the menu at MKT Restaurant and Bar in San Francisco.
Showcasing the potential of plant-based seafood to adorn high-end restaurant menus, Four Seasons – one of the world’s best-known luxury hotel operators – has partnered with Oshi, an Israeli startup that makes a whole-cut salmon analogue from fermented fungi, algae, soy protein and a blend of vegetable oils.
At Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco’s MKT Restaurant and Bar, executive chef Kevin Tanaka will introduce the vegan salmon on the menu, in a move touted as part of the hotel group’s “ongoing commitment to sustainable luxury”.
“We’re honoured to work with Four Seasons to introduce plant-based salmon to their guests,” says Oshi co-founder and CEO Ofek Ron. “Chef Tanaka’s expertise and creativity are the perfect match for Oshi’s product, and we’re excited to be part of this shift towards more sustainable dining experiences.”
Oshi salmon to roll out at several Four Seasons hotels
Courtesy: Oshi
Oshi, which rebranded from Plantish in 2023, hopes to tap into the signature taste and texture of salmon, but without the climate and health concerns (think the presence of mercury and antibiotics, and the impact of overfishing).
To do so, it uses a blend of mycoprotein, soy protein, algal and vegetable oils, and rice flour that is put through a proprietary modular layering technology. This involves incorporating fats between layers of plant proteins and algae extracts to create a whole-muscle structure similar to conventional salmon.
Ron, who founded the startup with Ariel Szklanny, Ron Sicsic and Hila Elimelech in 2021, confirmed that Oshi recently received approval for its patents. The team moved operations from Israel to the US late last year, owing to a more receptive regulatory environment for mycelium, and set up a co-manufacturing production facility stateside.
The salmon has been rolled out at a number of restaurants across the US this year, including Urban Vegan Kitchen, Mercury Bar West, and Neat in New York City, V-Spot Food in New Hope, DVASH in Boca Raton, and BeeWali’s Vegan AF in Los Angeles.
But part of Oshi’s foodservice plan was to target the luxury market, which it is kickstarting with the Four Seasons collaboration. “We first connected with Four Seasons chefs at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, where they had the chance to experience our product firsthand,” Ron tells Green Queen. “Our distribution partner, Royal Hawaiian Seafood, introduced Oshi to their team, and from there, the collaboration began.”
It’s a shrewd move considering that food is amongst the most popular luxury items consumers want to spend more on. A YouGov poll in 2023 found that more than one in four Americans (27%) were looking to buy luxury meat and produce over the next 12 months.
Meanwhile, a recent global survey by the Marine Stewardship Council found that 30% of people have been eating less seafood in the last two years, as nearly half (48%) are concerned about overfishing and 35% are worried about climate change impacts. At the same time, over 80% of people have changed their dietary habits in this period, and 43% are doing so for sustainability reasons.
While the MKT will be the first Four Seasons restaurant to introduce Oshi’s vegan salmon, it won’t be the last, with expansion to other locations planned for 2025.
“Oshi’s salmon has an authentic texture and flavour that beautifully complements our offerings here at MKT,” said Tanaka. “I’m excited to work with such a high-quality, sustainable product, giving our guests a delicious way to enjoy seafood without the environmental impact. We look forward to presenting Oshi in a variety of dishes that highlight its versatility.”
Treading rough waters for alternative seafood
Courtesy: Oshi
“Our focus is on expanding into luxury hotels, corporate kitchens, and casual restaurants across the US,” says Ron. “By 2025, we’re planning to launch our plant-based salmon in retail and begin a pilot in the EU.” Oshi will further launch a new product in early 2025, which it will reveal next month.
Apart from the partnership with Royal Hawaiian Seafood, it has also linked up with distributors like ACE Naturals, Earthly Gourmet and Webstaurant Store, which will enable Oshi to supply its products to more foodservice clients across the US.
The company has so far secured $14.5M, most recently closing a bridge funding round. It is planning to fundraise further in 2025. “I believe that as alternative protein becomes more mainstream, funding will naturally align with the growing demand for sustainable options,” he says.
Alternative proteins saw funding fall by 44%, and for plant-based and cultivated protein startups, the numbers are even worse this year. Companies dealing with fermentation (like Oshi), however, have bagged nearly 30% more investment in the first three quarters of this year than they did in all of 2023.
Meanwhile, sales of plant-based meat and seafood fell by 12% last year. But vegan seafood takes up just 1% of the overall seafood share in the US, and several companies – like Akua, Ordinary Seafood and New Wave Foods – have shut down over the last year, underscoring the tough market landscape.
“The alternative seafood market is still in its early stages, unlike alternative meat, which has decades of consumer familiarity. Brands like Tofurky and Gardein paved the way, and now Oshi is helping drive growth in the alt-seafood category with whole-cut options that make up over 70% of the traditional fish market,” says Ron.
“We’re seeing strong interest from major clients who are considering plant-based options for the first time, and consumer awareness of the health and environmental concerns around fish consumption is rising, which will help grow the category.”
UK universities could benefit from massive cost and emissions savings if they switched to 100% plant-based catering, a new study has found.
If British universities transitioned to a fully vegan catering menu, they could save up to £1.5M annually and lower emissions by 80%, with meals using up a third of the water and nearly 90% less land.
This is because plant-based meals are 30% cheaper than meat and 21% cheaper than vegetarian dishes, while emitting 84% fewer greenhouse gases compared to meat-rich options, according to analysis by UK consultancy Bryant Research.
The firm compiled the climate impact data, wholesale price, and portion sizes of 140 different ingredients to estimate the environmental footprint and food procurement costs for a range of meals at universities.
“Our model found that plant-based meals are consistently the most sustainable across various environmental measures, compared to vegetarian and meat-based meals. Crucially, we also found that a plant-based transition provides an opportunity for caterers to reduce their food procurement costs,” Bryant Research director Chris Bryant and political researcher Billy Nicholles said in a joint statement.
Vegan meals much cheaper and better for the environment
Courtesy: Bryant Research
The average costs and environmental footprints were calculated based on three weeks of sample menus, with one plant-based, vegetarian and meat-based meal each day, totalling 45 meals. The researchers found that the average price of a meat-rich dish was £3.02, versus £2.68 for vegetarian meals, and £2.10 for plant-based.
“All environmental measures demonstrated a clear and consistent trend: the plant-based meals performed better compared to meat-based and vegetarian meals, often by a significant margin,” the authors wrote.
In every example, vegan meals were associated with the lowest emissions. Even vegetarian meals generated three times as many emissions (1.5kg CO2e on average) as vegan options (0.5kg CO2e). Meat-based dishes were linked with 3.2kg of CO2e on average. For example, a beef lasagna with cheesy garlic bread, fries and a side salad emitted 11.4kg of CO2e, much higher than what a chestnut and oyster mushroom kebab with chips, pickled onions and chillies generated (0.5kg CO2e).
Similarly, plant-based fare used 69% less water (115 litres) than meat-heavy dishes (370 litres). But unlike other metrics, vegetarian dishes weren’t far away from the water footprint of meaty ones (350 litres). This is because dairy – and cheese, in particular – demand high volumes of water.
The greatest difference between vegan food and meat comes with land use. The average amount of land used to produce a meat-based meal is 12.3 cubic metres, versus 1.2 cubic metres for plant-based dishes – this means the former uses over 10 times as much land as the latter. Vegan lunches also need 73% less land than vegetarian ones.
This echoes other studies that show the outsized environmental impact of meat production. Livestock farming makes up 57% of agricultural emissions, while using up 80% of all farmland and 30% of the world’s freshwater supply – all while providing just 18% of the world’s calories and 38% of its protein.
How universities can embrace plant-based catering
Courtesy: Bryant Research
The report worked out the total savings different-sized universities can make across five scenarios, ranging from business as usual to a transition towards a 100% plant-based menu.
These institutions can cut food procurement costs by 27% and reduce emissions by 79% if they transition to a fully vegan catering menu. The associated water consumption would also be decreased by 67%, while land use would be down by 87%.
A small university of 5,000 students could therefore save around £280,000 per year, which rises to £50,000 for a medium-sized institute of 10,000 students. For larger universities (up to 25,000 people), this would amount to £1.4M in budgetary savings.
To bring about these changes and reap their benefits, Bryant Reserach has outlined four recommendations for universities. First, they should publicly commit to a phased shift to a 100% plant-based menu by 2030, setting clear annual targets for increasing the proportion of such meals.
Then, they should engage and educate stakeholders, from Students’ Union leaders and prospective and current students to catering managers, commercial directors, chefs, and sustainability managers. The menu options they decide on should be “diverse, nutritious and appealing as well as environmentally and financially advantageous”.
The report also encourages them to implement a plant-based by default approach, which involves offering vegan dishes as the main choice, with meaty meals available if diners ask for them. This choice architecture strategy can normalise plant-based eating and is relatively easy to implement.
Finally, universities should utilise support services to increase the plant protein ratio, like Humane Society International’s Forward Food programme, which has already supported over 30 universities with hands-on culinary training, evidence-backed menu formulation strategies, and bespoke food sustainability reports.
Caterers like Sodexo and Compass Group have both pledged to reduce meat and dairy in favour of vegan meals to meet their climate commitments. And last year, over 650 academics and campaigners penned an open letter to UK universities demanding a switch to 100% vegan catering menus, comparing the shift to fossil fuel divestment commitments by 101 institutes in the country.
So far, the students’ unions of the University of Stirling, Birmingham University, Queen Mary University, London Metropolitan University, Kent University, Cambridge University, and Newcastle University, among others have all voted to introduce 100% plant-based menus.
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