• Taco Bell, a US fast-food restaurant chain specializing in tex-mex dishes announced it will be trialing a proprietary plant-based meat alternative made using pea and soy protein at 50 of its locations in Birmingham, Alabama. 

• The new plant-based protein (certified vegan by the American Vegetarian Association) will be featured on the Crispy melt taco and Nachos bell grande for a limited time and would also be available for order on the chain’s existing menu items. Customers can opt for the plant-based substitute at no additional cost to the traditional beef counterpart priced at USD 2.49.

<ul><li> AnalystQuickTake: Taco Bell has been a leader in providing meat-free options in the fast food space. This new product is an in-house development instead of using a plant-based meat supplier. In December 2021 , Taco Bell was working with Beyond Meat for a plant-based meat substitute as a result of a partnership signed by Yum! Brand and Beyond Meat, under which the two companies collaborated to create plant-based menu items featuring Beyond Meat products to KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. While the planned product trials were canceled at that point, Taco Bell stated that it is still working with Beyond Meat to launch a new product prior to the end of this year.</ul>