A report from ProVeg International has found that major fast food chains are delivering increasing numbers of plant-based options.

The report ranked the ‘Big Five’ leading fast food chains – McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut and KFC – in terms of how “plant-friendly” they are.

Main meals, sides, desserts and menu presentation were taken into consideration at fast food chains across nine countries: Belgium, Czechia, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain, the UK and the US.

Burger King came out on top, with the highest percentage of main dishes being plant-based. Subway came in at a close second in the ranking, followed by McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and KFC.

The latest moves by the Big Five to incorporate plant-based into their menus include the launch of a vegan McFlurry dessert in 2022 by McDonald’s Germany. In the same year, Pizza Hut UK introduced Violife vegan cheese into all of its UK locations, both for dine-in and delivery.

ProVeg recommended that all chains continue to focus on improving their menus by increasing the plant-based options and implementing menu strategies to encourage mainstream consumers to choose plant-based.

Recommended best practices from the report include listing menu options as plant-based by default, replacing animal-based options with plant-based options and smoothly integrating plant-based options into the main menus as well as repeating them in a separate plant-based section.

When naming menu items, ProVeg also suggested that words should be chosen that focus on the product’s culinary theme, sensory experience or brand while minimising the use of words like ‘veggie’ or ‘plant-based’ and totally avoiding terms such as ‘vegan’, ‘vegetarian’ or ‘meatless’.

It also recommends that fast food chains should consider partnering with, or expanding partnerships with, the variety of food manufacturers and retailers who are starting to expand in the plant-based space.

John Bisig, senior project manager at ProVeg, said: “It is incredible to see how fast food – which has always revolved around animal meat consumption – has become more plant-friendly and, in doing so, more climate-friendly”.

“We analysed 43 online menus across all nine countries and twenty-two of them (51%) offered at least one plant-based option. This is encouraging but there is still plenty of room for improvement.”

Bisig added that by making plant-based options more available, tasty and affordable, fast food chains are “normalising climate-friendly food” while helping to appeal to younger generations – who are more likely to purchase sustainable products and prioritise climate-conscious brands – by trend-setting with mainstream consumers.

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