Kentucky Fried Chicken China confirmed today that it has become one of the first national Western QSR brands to introduce a plant-based meat product to China, as QSRweb reported last week. For a limited test period between April 28-30, KFC plant-based chicken nuggets will debut at stores in three cities across China, a news release said.

During the test period, KFC customers in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen will have the opportunity to sample the new KFC Plant-Based Chicken Nuggets in-store, at a special price of about 28 cents in U.S. dollars, or 1.99 in Chinese Yuan for five pieces of the product. 

More than 7,000 of the required pre-sale coupons have been purchased on the brand's app in China when they became available from April 20-23. In fact, in Shanghai, pre-sale coupons for the first day sold out within one hour, the company said.

To convey the plant-based concept of the product, participating stores will be given a green makeover throughout the test period. KFC is alo asking customers for feedback on ways to optimize the nuggets' flavors and to help assess the potential for a larger-scale rollout in the future.

"We are committed to embracing innovation and continue to delight and surprise our customers with tasty products," Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China said in a company release. "The test of KFC's plant-based chicken nuggets caters to the growing market in China for delicious alternative meat options on the go. We believe that testing the plant-based chicken concept with one of our most iconic products will take this increasingly popular meatless trend to a new level."

KFC worked with Cargill on the test product, which the brand said is "as close as possible to real chicken." After the nuggets are cooked, the restaurants add a crispy golden layer that the brand said was created for Chinese palates with a small amount of locally sourced water chestnut, which they said enhances the flavor and texture of the nuggets. 

Plant-based meat products, using plant protein as the raw material, have become an increasingly popular concept around the world. In August 2019, KFC US attracted wide attention when it became the first major U.S. QSR brand to testplant-based chicken during a limited release at a KFC store in Atlanta. 

Yum China Holdings, Inc. is a licensee of Yum Brands in mainland China, with exclusive rights in mainland China to KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Yum China also owns the East Dawning, Little Sheep, Huang Ji Huang, and COFFii & JOY outright, for a total of 9,200 stores in 1,300-plus cities.

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