Subway to Start Selling Meatless Meatball Marinara Subs

Another one bites the meat alternatives.

Meatless Marinara

What do Del Taco, Burger King, Tim Horton's, and Little Caesars have in common? They've all started selling plant-based meat alternatives.

And now, sandwich juggernaut Subway is joining the fray — the ultimate sign that fake meat is going mainstream.

Italian Herbs and Protein

The international franchise has announced a partnership with rising fake meat star Beyond Meat to test out a limited-time sandwich called the Beyond Meatball Marinara Sub in 685 restaurants across North America.

As you might have guessed, the sandwich — described as "with a plant-based twist" in a press release — will feature Beyond Meat's plant-based concoction that reportedly packs 24 grams of protein into each six-inch sub.

Faux Meat is Here to Stay

The meatless food alternatives industry is booming right now. Burger King announced last week that its Impossible Whopper is going nationwide, and Beyond Meat's stock is booming after going public in May.

Even regulators are getting on board: last month, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it marked Impossible Foods' key ingredient called soy leghemoglobin as "safe" — a move that could allow the imitation meat maker to sell raw product in grocery stores.

READ MORE: Subway joins other fast-food chains in testing meatless food [The Verge]

More on Beyond Meat: Burger King’s Impossible Whopper Is Going Nationwide on August 8