Dave & Buster's replaces Impossible burgers with new plant-based product

[October 17, 2019]  (Reuters) - Dave & Buster's Entertainment Inc <PLAY.O> has replaced Impossible Foods' plant-based burgers with smaller rival Lightlife's burgers across its U.S and Canada outlets, the restaurant chain said on Thursday.

The completed plant-based hamburger is displayed during a media tour of Impossible Foods labs and processing plant in Redwood City, California, U.S. October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach

The move highlights the increasing competition Beyond Meat Inc <BYND.O> and Impossible Foods are facing from traditional meat producers and packaged food companies such as Tyson Foods Inc <TSN.N> and Nestle <NESN.S> in the nascent alternative meat market.

Lightlife burgers are made by Greenleaf Foods, a unit of Canadian packaged meat producer Maple Leaf Foods Inc <MFI.TO>.

Dave & Buster's, which operates about 130 restaurants across the United States and Canada, added Impossible burgers to its menu last year, as plant-based meat substitutes gain popularity among diners.

Earlier in September, Restaurant Brand International Inc's <QSR.TO> Tim Hortons cut Beyond Meat's burgers and sandwiches from its menu, except in Ontario and British Columbia restaurants, months after a nationwide roll-out at the Canadian breakfast chain.

The Lightlife burgers are free of genetically modified organisms, gluten, soy and artificial flavors, while Impossible burger uses genetically modified yeast that creates the key ingredient, heme, and makes the patties appear bloody and juicy and taste like meat.

(Reporting by Soundarya J in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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