Burger King picks Unilever to make plant-based Whoppers in Europe | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Sunday
June 01, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
SUNDAY, JUNE 01, 2025
Burger King picks Unilever to make plant-based Whoppers in Europe

World+Biz

Reuters
12 November, 2019, 11:45 am
Last modified: 12 November, 2019, 12:59 pm

Related News

  • Unilever Consumer Care sees 38% profit drop in Q1
  • Unilever replaces CEO Schumacher with finance chief in surprise move
  • Unilever's Indonesia headache worsens with boycott as local brands seize the day
  • Refill machine saves 30% cost, reduces plastic use: Unilever Bangladesh 
  • Ben & Jerry's says parent Unilever silenced it over Gaza stance

Burger King picks Unilever to make plant-based Whoppers in Europe

Heightened concerns about health and the environmental impact of industrial animal farming are pushing plant-based proteins into restaurant menus and chilled meat aisles in stores across Europe and the United States

Reuters
12 November, 2019, 11:45 am
Last modified: 12 November, 2019, 12:59 pm
The logo of US fast food group Burger King is seen at a restaurant in Bruettisellen, Switzerland October 11, 2016/ Reuters
The logo of US fast food group Burger King is seen at a restaurant in Bruettisellen, Switzerland October 11, 2016/ Reuters

Burger King on Monday rolled out a meat-free version of its Whopper burger in 25 European countries, using patties made by Unilever Plc to strengthen its foothold in the exploding market for plant-based food served in restaurant chains.

Heightened concerns about health and the environmental impact of industrial animal farming are pushing plant-based proteins into restaurant menus and chilled meat aisles in stores. Companies from Beyond Meat Inc to Impossible Foods Inc are competing fiercely for deals with fast-food makers, as plant-based mania spreads across Europe and the United States.

Unilever's meat-free brand The Vegetarian Butcher, which had yet to strike a deal with a major restaurant chain, will supply patties for the "Rebel Whopper" to over 2,500 stores in countries including Germany, Spain, Poland and Italy. The burgers will be Burger King's biggest ever product launch in Europe.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Demand for plant-based products has increased over the last couple of years and trying to meet that is crucial, said David Shear, who heads Burger King operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Shear said in an interview that this initial rollout would eventually expand elsewhere in the region.

The Rebel Whopper will be priced similarly to its beef counterpart in Europe - a departure from the norm in North America, where plant-based burgers typically cost $1-$1.50 more than meat patties. For instance, the plant-based Whopper that Silicon Valley-based Impossible Foods makes for Burger King costs $5.59, vs. $4.19 for a beef Whopper. The company, which is owned by Brazilian-controlled 3G Capital via its majority stake in Restaurant Brands International Inc said prices may vary between franchises.

Restaurant Brands said last month that the Impossible Whopper had become one of Burger King's most successful launches ever.

Burger King began testing a different version of the Rebel Whopper in Sweden this summer, tying up with Dutch faux meat maker Vivera BV. That contract will eventually be transferred to Unilever, Shear said. Burger King this month starts selling another plant-based Rebel Whopper throughout Brazil, made by meatpacker Marfrig Global Foods SA in partnership with commodities trader Archer Daniels Midland Co.

Top News

Burger King / Unilever / Whoppers

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Illustration: TBS
    Tax-free income ceiling to be raised, slabs restructured
  • Infographic: TBS
    Govt targets Dec opening of Dhaka airport's 3rd terminal but Japanese consortium wants 2 more months
  • Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus returns to Dhaka on 1 June 2025, wrapping up his four-day official tour to Japan. Photo: Courtesy
    CA Yunus returns home wrapping up Japan tour

MOST VIEWED

  • BAT Bangladesh has to vacate Mohakhali HQ as SC rejects lease appeal
    BAT Bangladesh has to vacate Mohakhali HQ as SC rejects lease appeal
  • Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus speaks to Nikkei Asia in Tokyo on 29 May. Photo: Nikkei Asia
    Bangladesh ready to buy more US cotton, oil to reduce trade gap: Yunus
  • UCB approves 2024 financials, allocates entire profit to NPL provisions
    UCB approves 2024 financials, allocates entire profit to NPL provisions
  • Tax exemptions for key industries to go, sweeping tax hikes planned
    Tax exemptions for key industries to go, sweeping tax hikes planned
  • Matarbari 1,200MW coal-fired plant in Moheshkhali, Cox's Bazar. File Photo: Nupa Alam/TBS
    Supplier slapped with 5 conditions to unload rejected Matarbari coal shipment
  • US Embassy Dhaka. Picture: Courtesy
    Birth tourism not permitted on US visitor visa: US Embassy Dhaka

Related News

  • Unilever Consumer Care sees 38% profit drop in Q1
  • Unilever replaces CEO Schumacher with finance chief in surprise move
  • Unilever's Indonesia headache worsens with boycott as local brands seize the day
  • Refill machine saves 30% cost, reduces plastic use: Unilever Bangladesh 
  • Ben & Jerry's says parent Unilever silenced it over Gaza stance

Features

Babar Ali, Ikramul Hasan Shakil, and Wasfia Nazreen are leading a bold resurgence in Bangladeshi mountaineering, scaling eight-thousanders like Everest, Annapurna I, and K2. Photos: Collected

Back to 8000 metres: How Bangladesh’s mountaineers emerged from a decade-long pause

1d | Panorama
Photos: Courtesy

Behind the looks: Bangladeshi designers shaping celebrity fashion

1d | Mode
Photo collage of the sailors and their catch. Photos: Shahid Sarkar

Between sky and sea: The thrilling life afloat on a fishing ship

1d | Features
For hundreds of small fishermen living near this delicate area, sustainable fishing is a necessity for their survival. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain

World Ocean Day: Bangladesh’s ‘Silent Island’ provides a fisheries model for the future

2d | The Big Picture

More Videos from TBS

Fuel prices cut; effective from June 1

Fuel prices cut; effective from June 1

5h | TBS News Updates
News of The Day, 31 MAY 2025

News of The Day, 31 MAY 2025

8h | TBS News of the day
Which way will the job crisis take the Chinese young generation?

Which way will the job crisis take the Chinese young generation?

9h | Others
How Banglalink is implementing Veon DO 1440

How Banglalink is implementing Veon DO 1440

7h | TBS Stories
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net