The Veggie Burger That ‘Bleeds’ Will Soon Be Available in Atlanta

Beyond Meat is bringing its “bleeding” veggie burger to Atlanta. The company has announced a big distribution deal with Kroger grocery stores, including an unspecified number in the metro area. This means local vegetarians will soon be able to indulge in, perhaps, the “meatiest” veggie burger they’ve ever had.

Beyond Meat, the Silicon Valley-based vegetarian company, created a stir last summer when it introduced a product it declared to be a “veggie burger that ‘bleeds.’” Initially available at select Whole Foods stores (the first-ever release sold out in an hour), the burger is made of vegetable protein, and the “blood” is actually beet juice. It sounds a little sci-fi, but initial reaction from critics was positive. Words such as “juicy,” “tasty,” and “pink in the middle” were used to describe the creation. Most weren’t convinced they could be tricked into believing the animal-friendly burger contains beef, but many declared it to be the closest thing to a beef burger they had ever tasted. Beyond meat hopes the reception will make its veggie burger the future of protein.

A four-ounce Beyond Burger boasts a whopping 20 grams of protein and not a whiff of cholesterol, but it isn’t exactly a health food. Each patty also contains 22 grams of fat (five grams of saturated fat) and 450 grams of sodium.

The burger will begin showing up at Kroger locations across the country over the next six weeks, according to a Beyond Meat spokesperson, but there’s no official word on when to expect it at Atlanta locations. The new distribution deal will triple the product’s reach.

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