Beyond Meat will offer a new Dunkin’ sandwich

Beyond Meat Inc., the faux-meat company that has seen its stock surge almost 700% since its May public offering, has notched another fast-food client.

Dunkin’ will offer a Beyond Sausage breakfast sandwich at 163 restaurants in Manhattan at a cost of $4.29 — 14 cents more than its meat-based equivalent. After New York, the plan is to go national with the menu item.

The sausage was developed as a collaboration between the two companies and features a proprietary spice blend that’s meant to match the flavor of the sausage sandwich served at Dunkin’, Beyond Meat Chief Executive Ethan Brown said in an interview.

Restaurants are racing to line up non-meat menu items as Americans warm to patties and sausages that mimic the flavors and textures of the real thing but are made with plants. With their availability on the rise, meat eaters are increasingly trying out the products.

About 95% of consumers buying plant-based burgers in the last year have also bought beef burgers, according to market research firm NPD. Meanwhile, 18% of the overall adult population is trying to add more plant-based foods to their diets, the firm found, driven by a range of concerns including health, animal welfare and sustainability.

Investors are watching the industry to see whether supply can rise fast enough to meet demand. Beyond Meat, based in El Segundo, said last quarter that it had learned from past supply problems and now has the capacity to take on big clients.

Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. joins Tim Hortons, which already has three different Beyond Meat breakfast sandwiches at nearly 4,000 breakfast locations in Canada. Tim Hortons, owned by Restaurant Brands International Inc., announced last week that it would also add the meat-substitute’s burgers to its lunch and dinner menus.

Beyond Meat is also present on menus at TGI Fridays nationwide and in regional fast-food chains including Carl’s Jr. and Del Taco. Its main competitor, Impossible Foods, is currently rolling out Impossible Whoppers at Burger King locations across the U.S. and sells Impossible Sliders at White Castles around the country.

The Dunkin’ sandwiches aren’t the chain’s first attempt to lean into plant-based foods, a sector in which overall U.S. retail sales soared 11% in the last year, far outpacing the 2% growth in the food sector overall. The chain began selling almond milk for its lattes and cappuccinos in 2014, and earlier this summer tested a Morningstar Farms veggie patty in some markets.

The Morningstar Farms test is much smaller than the Beyond sausage rollout, said Dunkin’ Chief Marketing Officer Tony Weisman.

To avoid cross contamination from real pork, Dunkin’ said, the Beyond Meat sandwich will be cooked separately on individual pieces of paper.