KarunaNews Story

Nearly two years after winning rave reviews and selling out quickly in test markets, Beyond Fried Chicken became available at the 4,000+ KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) stores across the United States on January 10, 2022. Custom-developed for KFC's sole proprietary use, it’s the first plant-based chicken to launch in US fast-food restaurants. Developed in conjunction with Beyond Meat, the protein shreds like a chunk of muscle tissue, which is more expensive to produce than typical plant chicken. While COVID delayed the rollout, KFC believes its launch of “plant meat” is part of a greater “modernization” of the brand. “Every piece of data we have on the customer—not just for the next couple of years, but decades—[suggests] a diet higher in plant-based proteins,” says KFC US president Kevin Hochman.