Food Guides, How to Vegan

KFC Canada’s Vegan Chicken is Here! (Here’s Everything You Need to Know)

It's finally here - KFC Canada's Vegan Chicken Sandwich is here to stay. As of Monday, August 10th KFC has launched a plant-based chicken sandwich and popcorn chicken nationwide in Canada. Although they’ve stated that the popcorn chicken will only be here for a limited time, we hope the sandwich is here to stay. Plus, you better believe we’re going to eat as much popcorn chicken as possible while we can.

Their plant-based chicken is made with Lightlife plant-based protein, made up of soy, wheat, and fava beans. The sandwich retails for $6.79 (no combo) and the popcorn chicken is $5.99 for a small and $11.99 for a 32oz bucket. Some reports state that the chicken is fried in the same fryer that they use for French fries. However, on their site KFC states that “it may be cooked in the same oil as our chicken”.

What’s the deal with KFC's mayo on their vegan chicken sandwich?

We originally thought the mayo that came on the vegan chicken sandwich was regular mayo. We even called a location to ask whether the mayo was regular or vegan and they said it was regular. Once the sandwich officially launched, many people asked KFC Canada what the deal is? On Twitter they said their regular mayo is made with plant-based ingredients. In the allergen information on their site, it lists the sandwich as having no egg or milk ingredients. It feels like it’s safe to say it must be vegan mayo. This still begs the question – why is the spicy sandwich not vegan? It could be that they have a pre-made spicy mayo and that one isn’t available as plant-based.

The KFC Chronicles

In Canada we’re lucky to have several vegan burger options widely available, but this marks the first vegan chicken product to be available at a restaurant across the country. A&W previously did a limited time run of plant-based chicken nuggets, also made with Lightlife, but those are no longer available. In our latest podcast episode, we recapped some of KFC’s previous plant-based tests and launches that lead to this. We also called to ask about the mayo and were told it was regular, but judging by KFC’s replies on Twitter it would seem that information is wrong.

 

Previous Tests and Launches

2018

  • In July a KFC in Vietnam launched vegan chicken sandwich and two chicken salads

2019

June 17- July 15

  • Launched "Imposter burger" to 20 locations in London, Midlands, and Bristol
  • Made by Quorn foods
  • Served with vegan mayo
  • Sold out in 4 days, pulling in 500% more in sales than any other new product launch at KFC

August 26

  • One location in Atlanta, Georgia tested Beyond Fried Chicken
  • Sold out in 5 hours

Nov 27

  • One location in Mississauga, Ontario tested the chicken sandwich and popcorn chicken by Lightlife Foods
  • Sold out in 6 hours
  • That test was meant to determine their plans to roll out the options nationally in 2020

2020

January

  • KFC and Quorn burger expand to 900 UK locations and sell one million burgers in January alone

February

  • KFC expanded test locations to 70 locations in Charlotte, Nashville, and surrounding areas

April 28-30

  • KFC China tested plant-based nuggets made by Cargill at 3 locations
  • In Shanghai the vegan nuggets sold out in an hour and 7,000 portions were purchased
  • In June KFC China announced they’re partnering with Beyond Meat to expand options

 

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