Burger King has announced it will be serving a plant-based burger at all of its locations in the Philippines. The Plant-Based Whopper contains a patty made by Australian alt-meat company v2food.
It marks the end of a successful year for v2food, which has already launched into several new retail outlets and raised $55M to expand into Asia this year.
The Plant-Based Whopper is soy-based and served in a bun with tomatoes and greens. It also comes with cheese and mayo, but vegans can ask for these to be omitted.
So far, response to the burger has been positive, with many customers saying they wouldn’t have known it wasn’t a meat burger.
But as with the plant-based Whopper launched in the UK and the USA last year, the burgers are cooked on the same grill as the meat burgers, which has led some to say that they can’t be considered vegan.
Veganism in the Philippines
Until recently, the plant-based scene in the Philippines was not prominent, but there are signs that things are beginning to change. Another vegan burger called the Wonder Burger has recently launched at stores in the country. Meanwhile, Century Pacific, a Filipino corporation producing mostly meat, fish, and dairy products, has also announced that it is developing a plant-based meat brand.
“What we are offering our customers is an option,” Burger King’s Philippines marketing director Allan Tan told the Manila Bulletin. “Filipinos are such huge meat-eaters, and the insight for this local roll-out is to provide them with an affordable alternative.”
