Fake chicken fights for your plate

The Future. If you thought the alternative meat war was wild, the fake chicken battles are going to turn the temperature even higher — the average American eats more chicken than any other meat (54.6 pounds a year). The winner will probably be the one that can take the fast food industry by storm.

Will the real fake chicken please stand up
Here are some of the (faux) roosters in the fight for American tastebuds.

• Beyond Meat. Its Beyond Chicken Tenders are set to debut in over 400 restaurants, with its eyes set on school cafeterias and sports stadiums in the near future.
• Daring. A startup focused on sustainability and replicating the taste and texture of classic chicken strips.
• Nuggs. The Gen-Z favorite, nostalgia-inducing, direct-to-consumer alternative chicken nugget company.
• Chik’n. The breaded chicken from Kellogg’s Incogmeato brand.

Kentucky Fried Chickenless
The fake chicken wars are heating up at the same time as battle rages for the (real) chicken sandwich throne — a battle that has ensnared Chick-fil-a, Popeye’s, and McDonald’s. When it comes to cheap chicken, fast food is where victors are made.

For example, Beyond Meat tested a premium chicken tender alternative at KFC that was, according to FastCompany, quite delicious and comparable to the taste and feel of real chicken. But the price was too high for the company to roll out at scale. Still, that pilot program is considered the company’s “north star.”

The chicken alternative market is expected to reach $1 billion by 2027.