Dave Johnson
The Beyond Burger at TGI Fridays.
- The Beyond Burger is a plant-based patty promising a veggie meal without sacrificing the traditional meat-eating experience.
- Beyond Meat, the maker of the Beyond Burger and other plant-based products, went public in an explosive IPO last week.
- To see if it's worth the hype, we compared a Beyond Burger from TGI Fridays with a beef burger from Shake Shack.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Veggie burgers are finally having their day.
After decades of soy-based patties being the least-bad option for carnivores trying to consume less red meat, plant-based products like the Beyond Burger are disrupting the meat industry.
The Beyond Burger is engineered to look, smell, and taste like real meat, upending the traditional perception of veggie burgers. It's the mission of companies like Beyond Meat, which makes the Beyond Burger and several other plant-based products, to create new items so similar in appearance and taste to meat that carnivores will eat them without giving it a second thought.
Last week, Beyond Meat had an explosive initial public offering that valued the company at over $3 billion.
I hadn't yet had an opportunity to try a Beyond Burger, so I compared its offering at TGI Fridays to a burger from my hands-down favorite burger joint on the planet, Shake Shack. Here's what happened: