Adapting to emerging trends and consumer habits, the QSR restaurant chain Ribs, with multiple stores across Spain, has launched a new range of vegan dishes that it says do not comprise the brand’s authentic grilled flavor.
The new menu, dubbed True American Vegans & Veggies, includes four options: Vegan Nachos, Veggie Onion & Chipotle Burger, Vegan Cheese Burger, and Vegan Burritos.
Ribs, a brand of the Ibersol Group, was founded in Madrid in 1991, inspired by the first authentic American steakhouse in Spain, El Descanso. Their charcoal grills cook more than 330 tons of ribs yearly for the more than 3 million customers who visit their restaurants in Spain.
Swapping the meat
For this vegan offer, Ribs replaces the animal meat often used in these traditional dishes with alternatives developed by big players in the plant-based market. The nachos and burrito feature The Vegetarian Butcher’s “nopollo,” and the vegan burgers are made with Beyond Meat patties.
The Vegetarian Butcher arrived in Spain at the end of 2019 thanks to collaboration agreements with large restaurant chains such as Telepizza and Burger King. In early 2020, its products arrived in supermarkets. The brand’s alt meat is stocked in over 1,700 retail outlets, including Carrefour, where it recently launched a range of products not on shelves but at butcher counters in various locations.
Ribs has partnered with Beyond Meat since it launched a mushroom burger in 2020. Beyond Burger arrived in Spain in 2019, offering a healthier alternative to meat made with plants: cholesterol, hormone, antibiotic, soy, gluten, and GMO-free.
Spain has seen an explosion in plant-based eating, with more than 5 million people following a vegetarian or vegan diet. According to the data, from 2017 to 2021, people following a no-meat diet increased by 34%, while sales of alt meat in Spain surpassed €86.5 million in 2020.
Goiko, one of Spain’s largest burger chains, also recently launched three new vegan burgers using Beyond Meat and Violife‘s cheese.
At Ribs, the new vegan menu launches with a special introductory offer where customers can purchase any option and get Loaded Vegan Nachos for free. More information here.
