Tim Hortons Jettisons Beyond Meat Products
The chain will no longer carry the plant-based protein sandwiches in most Canadian locations.
Sep 25, 2019
OAKVILLE, Ontario—After a test run in most of its Canadian stores, Tim Hortons has decided not to extend limited time offers of Beyond Meat on the menus in stores outside of Ontario and British Columbia, CBC News reports. “We are always listening to our guests and testing a wide variety of products across the country,” Restaurant Brands International (RBI), which owns Tim Hortons, said to CBC News.
“Both the Beyond Burger and Beyond Meat breakfast sandwiches were introduced as a limited time offer. We have particularly seen positive reaction to our Beyond Meat offering in Ontario and [British Columbia], especially in breakfast, and are proud to offer both alternatives in those regions,” elaborated RBI.
RBI went on to indicate that its Beyond Burger would continue to be available for a limited time throughout the rest of Canada, with its Beyond Meat breakfast sandwiches selling until supplies run out. The reason for only continuing the limited time offerings in just two of Canada’s regions however, may lie in the fact that protein, plant-based or otherwise, isn’t the core business of Tim Hortons, according to Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab and professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
“Timmies is all about coffee, doughnuts and muffins. They just rode on this Beyond Meat bandwagon, and that's dangerous because they tried to capitalize on a brand and not necessarily a product,” Charlebois said. “It's like the pizza at McDonald's. It was a disaster back in the '80s because nobody goes to McDonald's to eat pizza.”
According to Charlebois, British Columbia has the highest number of vegans in Canada, while Ontario boasts the highest number of vegetarians, so it makes sense for stores in those regions to continue selling Beyond Meat menu items. Regarding Beyond Meat product availability at other locations, Tim Hortons commented, “These menu items were introduced as limited time offerings and may be brought back in the future.”
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