Plant-based Food in the Hospitality Industry: An Exploratory Case Study of Leading Fast Food Outlets

Plant-based food is one of the growing sectors within the food industry, and fast food companies may have an important role to play in driving both the trialling, and the consumption, of plant-based foods. This exploratory paper outlines the growth of plant-based foods, explores how the leading fast food companies are incorporating plant-based foods into their menus, and offers some wider reflections on the fast food companies’ approach to plant-based food. The findings reveal that the leading fast food companies within the UK were promoting their plant-based menu items at both the corporate and outlet level. That said, the fast food companies made little, or no, attempt to associate the introduction of plant-based menu items with a healthier diet, and the author suggested that substantially increasing their plant-based menus could provide a challenge to the fast food companies’ traditional business models. More generally, the paper concluded that in the medium-term future, the fast food companies are likely to play a limited, rather than a leading, role in driving plant-based consumption across society, and in contributing to a more sustainable future. Keywords: plant-based foods, fast food companies, menus, healthy diets, sustainable futures