Global pizza chain, Little Caesars, is trialing Impossible’s plant-based sausage in three test markets.
Dubbed as the Impossible Supreme, the pizza, which is being trialed for a month, features peppers, onion, mushroom, the plant-based sausage, and cheese.
To make the pizza suitable for a vegan diet, customers can request no cheese. PETA state the regular crust and regular sauce used do not contain any animal products.
‘It’s here to stay’
During CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, CEO of Little Caesars, David Scxrivano, said: “So many people are meat-eaters, but they’re trying plant-based alternatives to help their diet or they just want a different flavor.”
When asked if plant-based are products are a ‘fad’, Scrivano replied: “I think it’s here to stay. I’m really excited about it, I mean this pizza is a great product. It’s for meat eaters, but it can also be for people who use a plant-based diet.”
He also described impossible’s meatless sausage as having a ‘spectacular taste’ and that ‘many people can’t even tell the difference’.
Food controversy
Impossible Foods has come into controversy with vegan consumers in recent times. The company has branded its patty plant-based rather than vegan, after testing one of its ingredients – soy leghemoglobin aka ‘heme’ – on rats.
Speaking about the testing, Impossible Foods CEO Pat Brown, a vegan of more than 16 years, published a statement titled The Agonizing Dilemma of Animal Testing, saying the core of his company’s mission is to ‘eliminate exploitation of animals in the food system’, as well as reduce the impact of animal agriculture on the environment.
Vegan cheese?
Last year, YouTuber Hannah Shaw, otherwise known as the Kitten Lady, urged the pizza giant to add vegan cheese to its menu, stating the company should ‘take a slice out of cruelty’.
Shaw, who has more than half a million subscribers, created a petition on Change.org, which has exceeded 102,000 signatures.