The restaurant chain launched the nuggets, which come in packs of six for $5.99 or a pack of 10 for $8.99, through a partnership with Lightlife, a company that produces vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes.
“We’re thrilled to partner with A&W as they launch their first plant-based nugget on menu,” Dan Curtin, president and CEO of Greenleaf Foods, SPC, Lightlife’s parent company, said in a statement. “A&W is an icon in the Canadian dining landscape, and we’re excited for their guests to experience the taste, texture and satisfaction of Lightlife’s plant-based nuggets.”
Ontario producers are of two minds about the nuggets.
While the opportunities associated with alternative proteins are welcomed, the taste and texture of the nuggets might be off-putting.
“It gives everybody another option for crop marketing and that’s always a good thing for farmers,” Todd Arthur, who raises edible beans in Middlesex County, told Farms.com. “But for me, the idea of a plant-based nugget is a little tough to swallow.”
The nuggets are available for a limited time and while supplies last.
If A&W receives a favourable consumer response, it may consider permanently adding the nuggets as a menu option.
Farms.com has reached out to Ontario Bean Growers for comment.