Lidl stores in the UK are now selling California-based brand Beyond Meat’s vegan Beyond Burgers.
A Sheffield-based shopper recently spotted the pea protein plant-based patties and took a photo. Vegan Food UK posted the image to its Instagram account.
The burgers—priced at £3.99—are stocked in the freezer section. It’s not the first time Beyond Burgers have been on the shelves at Lidl. More than 3,000 locations in Germany stocked the patty for a limited time last year; they sold out within 24 hours.
The success prompted Lidl Germany to produce its own version, called the Next Level Burger.
Lidl UK also offers its own version of Beyond Burgers: “Without Meat Plant-Based Patties.” The burgers are made with pea, wheat, and soya. It costs £1.99 for a pack of two.
The Without Meat Plant-Based Patties recently won Bronze at the FreeFrom Awards 2020. It also came first place in the Best Veggie Burger category in Good Housekeeping’s BBQ Taste Test. Amy Pearce, a junior consumer tester at Good Housekeeping, wrote in a review: “We loved the earthy beetroot and mushroom flavor and the subtle kick from the light spices.”
Beyond Burgers Coming Down in Price?
While the Beyond Burger is currently more expensive than Lidl’s award-winning own-brand option, it may come down in price. Beyond Meat is now being produced in Europe. The Zandbergen co-manufacturing facility in Zoeterwoude, the Netherlands, which opened last month, is producing the Beyond Burger and the Beyond Sausage.
Beyond Meat has also acquired its own manufacturing facility in Enschede, the Netherlands, which it hopes will be operational by the end of 2020. Beyond Meat’s CEO and founder Ethan Brown said the new factory may help the brand to reduce its costs.
He said in a statement: “Our new facility in Enschede will not only bring production closer to the consumer, representing an investment in the markets and the communities we serve but is expected to allow us to leverage local supply chains, improving our cost structure and sustainability of operations.”
Burgers aren’t the only vegan products on the shelves at Lidl UK. The chain also offers Without Meat Plant-Based Mince, as well as three different own-brand vegan milk options: Just Free Oat Drink, Just Free Almond Drink, and Just Free Soya Drink.
