Beyond Meat Ramps Up Bleeding Burger Production in Europe

The race to conquer the U.K. bleeding burger market hots up

Beyond Meat has signed a deal to produce its bleeding vegan burgers in Europe, in a move that should make its fake meat market more accessible for U.K. restaurants. The partnership with Netherlands-based company Zandbergen World’s Finest Meat boosted the company’s shares by a further 8 percent, in the wake of its much-publicised initial public offer at the start of May.

Its closest competitor is Impossible Foods, which raised $300 million of its own two weeks ago and is already plotting to roll out its plant-based patty with Burger King by the end of the year. Beyond Meat, meanwhile, has a foothold in the supermarket — with Tesco — and has won approval from diners at U.K. chain Honest Burgers.

The net takeaway here remains kind of gross: an increase in production only broadens the very real question about how economies of scale will affect a product that purports to be helping to liberate the planet from systems of meat production that thrive on the convenience and ubiquity that it is gaining for itself day by day. More immediately: fake meat is definitely coming for the U.K. Longterm: is fake meat going to scale as destructively as the flesh it wants to replace? [CNBC]

And in other news...

• Some numbers to back up fake meat’s #numbers: Burger Kings offering the Impossible Burger in St Louis — the brand’s test city — reported an 18.5 percent increase in traffic. [CNBC]
• The ‘Top 100’ U.K. restaurant chains went from a collective £100 million pre-tax profit to a collective £82 million pre-tax loss in a single year. [City AM]
• A well-anticipated paella restaurant has closed in the City after under two months, with the high profile chef-owner saying he left a month ago.
• How has natural wine changed the London restaurant industry? Join Eater London’s next live event to find out.
• Gordon Ramsay’s making money again, and he’s definitely shouting about it.
• Dominos is introducing Big Brother surveillance to its pizza restaurants to check the toppings are just right. Just Australia and New Zealand, for now. [The Takeout]
• Good tweet: