A wing and a prayer; The cheese stands alone, and other morsels

Hooters caters to a shall we say a certain demographic. But the fast-food chain with a particular take on servers isn't immune to the need to cast a wider net. Enter meatless wings, in partnership with Quorn, the better to appeal to millennials and — yes! — women, Kate Taylor reports for Business Insider. Indeed, over the past five years, women have chosen not to avoid Hooters quite so much, marketing exec Carl Sweat tells Taylor. Sweat is also of the opinion that their reluctance is all about ... the menu. Whatever the logic, bravo. This isn't quite like the Heart Attack Grill deciding to serve, like, even a salad. But it's close.

Why has McDonald's been so slow to exploit, in the words of the Washington Post's Laura Reilly, "the past decade’s biggest food trend?" As we noted last week, the chain is piloting the PLT in a small handful of Ontario locations. But Reilly notes that just about every other major fast-food company is already all in (even Hooters, for heaven's sake). Two theories: Supply to meet McDonald's demand is, for now, an impossible burger (sorry) and — maybe even more important — their customers value value and speed, not innovation. Salads seemed a must but were a bust, so maybe introducing more plants isn't all that urgent, the thinking goes.

Food for Thought [?]

"Only 5-10% of people around the world adhere to a plant-based diet while the vast majority reach for more bacon. However, around a third of Americans and even more Europeans identify as conflicted omnivores — they eat meat but feel bad about it. When the door to an expanding smorgasbord of plant-based fare stands wide open, why do so many of us dither on the threshold like house cats? Clearly there are psychological barriers to meat-free living even if there are not pragmatic ones. These barriers are like small walls — easily climbed, but enough to slow our moral progress."

— Luke D Smillie Ph.D., Psychology Today

Panera is moving to a 50% (from 25%) plant-based menu, but not the easy way by adding meatless wings or alt-burgers. Panera is going all-in with whole foods, "such as quinoa and edamame," Amelia Lucas reports for CNBC, and it's no accident. “...faux meats are a long-term trend and they’re definitely a great solution for our guests or for some guests at different restaurants, as a transition product,” VP of wellness and food policy Sara Burnet told Lucas. “We are going after plant-based maybe a little bit differently than the industry...”

Kevin O'Leary is fond of dismissing Shark Tank contestants by saying he could just get into their business and crush them. It's a real risk for a startup to do something that awakens a giant. So Beyond Meat must be smarting from Kroger's decision to self-brand pea-based patties and ground alt-meat. Beyond's business plan is to a) Be in the meat section and b) Get carnivores to buy it once in a while. When the nation's largest supermarket chain (by revenue) decides to compete for your shelf space, it's not a nothing burger (sorry again).

Veggie burgers have advanced by leaps and bounds in the past decade. Why hasn't non-dairy cheese aged as well? Faux cheese is a tougher challenge, and since most flexitarians avoid only meat, there isn't the same crossover demand. “Vegan cheese options were created for people who had become vegans or vegetarians who loved cheese and craved a replacement," vegan cheese entrepreneur Miyoko Schinner told Brian Kateman for Forbes. "While current offerings may have been reasonable substitutes that were ‘good enough’ for vegans, they do not taste and perform like cow dairy and have low if any appeal to omnivores."