Burger King stupidity over its meat-free whopper

[Lycidas]

Why go to the effort of creating a meat-free burger only to cook it on the same grill as the others? Why limit your market to ‘people who are choosing a meatless option but don’t mind if it’s covered in meat juices?’ Seems incredibly shortsighted to me to overlook a large segment of the vegetarian/vegan markets.

www.burgerking.co.uk/menu-item/rebel-whopper

I’m a vegetarian and no I wouldn’t buy this.

Presumably it's for people doing veganuary, they're going to be eating meat in a couple of weeks anyway so I doubt they'll care. They aren't going to put in a special grill just for veggie burgers when it's only a gimmick for one month a year. Although I do think it would be good if they kept it all year round, I suppose it depends if the demand is there.

Although I’m not vegetarian, I would try this, but it seems ridiculous to cook a meat-free item on the same grills as meat. None of the vegetarians I know would eat it, and I totally get why.

Hope it's not as bad as the "improved" beanburger. The old one was nice.

That's so stupid, I bet many people won't realise it's cooked on the same grill.

I think @fligglepige had the right idea. If it proves popular then they’ll probably get second grills in.

It’s really daft. Not as daft as the person in kfc who told me their fries were vegetarian but not vegan because they’d been cooked with the chicken.

I think they may be on to something actually!

Ok so the question to you as an actual veggie is even if cooked in a eat free place would you be ok giving money to bk who kill rather a lot of animals a year? I think in reality bk are not a place that ethical veggies (who do not eat meat for animal rights reasons) will go.

However there is a new class of veggie/vegan who are the environmental lobby doing what they can to save the planet. I put myself in this category. I eat meat but am trying to eat less I therefore do not care about cross contamination of a veggie product. I think it’s that the bk think they can gain as customers. Those doing vegauary but who don’t object to meat entirely just want to eat less. Speaking to them is cheaper as they don’t need to introduce separate grills and probably easier as they don’t object in principle to a company that kills animals for profit? I think it seems an Easier win than a veggie based product to appeal to more ethical vegetarians who probably would not go to bk given their over all business model in any event?

They've always been like that though. None of their burgers are vegetarian, even the bean burger. It's all cooked on the same grill, always has been.

I fall into your category of “people who are choosing a meatless option but don’t mind if it’s covered in meat juices” because for me, veganism is about reducing the demand for animal products. This is achieved regardless of whether or not it has shared a grill with meat that will be eaten by other people regardless.

The whole advert makes it clear they are only doing it for woke points and the veganuary bandwagonners. I agree it is stupid to cook veggie/vegan food on the same grill as meat for veggies/vegans but that's not who is being targeted.

Presumably it's for people doing veganuary, they're going to be eating meat in a couple of weeks anyway so I doubt they'll care. They aren't going to put in a special grill just for veggie burgers when it's only a gimmick for one month a year. Although I do think it would be good if they kept it all year round, I suppose it depends if the demand is there.

Do buy a brain. Long term vegans/vegetarians were always going to be the main market for this item.

Thanks for the info. They will never have a penny from me.

Why limit your market to ‘people who are choosing a meatless option but don’t mind if it’s covered in meat juices?’ Seems incredibly shortsighted to me to overlook a large segment of the vegetarian/vegan markets

Because when it fails then they can say there is no call for plant based meat products

@Qasd Thats a silly argument! Even the most hardcore vegans would struggle to shop in purely vegan businesses. Most will be buying their almond milk and what have you in supermarkets that also stock animal products.

Also there's no new class of veggie/vegan who eats meat

The whole advert makes it clear they are only doing it for woke points Now, be fair! It identifies as a vegan burger, so....

'Do buy a brain. Long term vegans/vegetarians were always going to be the main market for this item.'

Is that why they're running the promotion in January, for the January vegans then? CF.

I doubt any veggie or vegan would eat that. Its a gimmick and they hope to sell it to veggies no matter what they say (I wonder if they would have said anything at all of it hadn't appeared in the news? I doubt it).

All their v profits come off the backs of mistreated factory farmed and slaughtered animals across the world I wouldn't give then a penny even if it was on storage grills.

Well I am not a veggie so I cannot comment but I do think general fat food chains including bk and Macdonalds were seen as particularly bad by animal rights groups in the way that supermarkets were not but if ethical vegetarians say that is not the case then I stand corrected.

But there accidentally is a vegetarian group which eat meat! They are called flexitarians and it’s about increasing plant based products in your Diet as with everything environmental bard every little counts. Following link explains it

www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/what-flexitarian-diet

But it’s these people that bk are targeting and as a growing trend seems fairly sensible to me!

*seperate

How can it be for people doing Veganuary if it isn’t vegan

Vegetarians and vegans won’t go for it as it is neither vegan or vegetarian

It is for meat eaters only

I think the problem is the fact it’s a franchise and it’s trusting each establishment to ensure they have a grill just for vegan/vegetarian purposes but for only one product. It would create huge problems for the company if some establishments didn’t maintain the separate grill purposes. The way the vegan community is it’s probably not worth the hassle at this point to open themselves up to cross contamination issues.

They have explicitly said it's aimed squarely at flexitarians. The veggie bean burger is cooked on a separate grill, so it's clearly a conscious decision that this isn't; it's not aimed at the hard core veggie/vegan market, it's aimed at those who want to eat more plant based food but not make the permanent switch.

None of Burger King’s burgers are strictly vegetarian - the staff have always made that clear when you ask. Though in some branches (only seen this in Hindu areas) have started running a separate grill for veg stuff.

flexitarians You mean meat eaters. Giving themselves a logo doesn’t change what they are, even if it they think it makes them better than any other meat eater.

That would just annoy me if I was a vegetarian!