Why The Impossible Whopper Will Bring New Customers To Burger King

Ted MarzilliCEO YouGov Direct
May 15, 2019, 7:33 PM GMT+0

To the relief of some on Twitter, it wasn’t an April Fools’ joke.

On April 1, news broke that Burger King planned to introduce the Impossible Whopper — a meatless version of its iconic burger made by the start-up Impossible Foods.

At present, data from YouGov Plan and Track shows that 37% of current Burger King customers agree that restaurants should offer more vegan/vegetarian options. That’s more or less the same level of agreement found among both current McDonald’s customers (38%) and Wendy’s customers (40%). It is, however, slightly lower than among U.S. adults overall (42%).

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While current Burger King customers might not immediately gravitate toward the Impossible Whopper, additional data suggests that the meatless menu item might attract new patrons — namely, younger consumers. In total, 53% of U.S. adults ages 18-34 agree that restaurants should offer more vegan/vegetarian options. This level of agreement seems to decline among older Americans.

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Furthermore, 39% of consumers ages 18-34 believe it's more ethical to be vegetarian, compared to 20% of those ages 35+.

Burger King isn’t the first restaurant of its kind to begin experimenting with plant-based substitutes. Last year, for example, White Castle introduced the Impossible Slider. Earlier this year, Taco Bell announced plans to begin testing its first vegetarian menu.

This story first appeared on Forbes.com.