The Worldwide Home of Pancakes (IHOP) has been serving up its tackle breakfast because it first opened its doorways in 1958 in Toluca Lake, CA. After rapidly gaining recognition, the chain grew to become a frontrunner within the household eating trade and by 1998, the chain clocked $1 billion in gross sales.
Within the late twentieth century, IHOP underwent a number of vital adjustments, together with menu diversification to enchantment to extra nutritionally conscious prospects. The franchise additionally started to embrace mealtimes outdoors of breakfast to compete with the likes of Denny’s and in a inventive transfer in 2018, quickly renamed itself “IHOb” as a stunt to announce the addition of burgers to its core menu.
Unimaginable Meals
In 2023, IHOP is continuous its evolution to higher serve trendy shoppers with the addition of Unimaginable Meals’ plant-based meats to the all-day menus at its 1,690 places nationwide. Beginning right now, diners can begin their day with plant-based Unimaginable Sausage patties. These might be paired with IHOP’s in style breakfast gadgets similar to pancakes and combo meals.
The corporate’s flagship Unimaginable Burger can even be obtainable for lunch or dinner as a part of IHOP’s menu of Steakburgers, all of which may now be made with the plant-based patty.
“IHOP is a traditional, American establishment, and having each our Unimaginable Sausage and Unimaginable Burger served at their places nationwide is a big seal of approval,” Sherene Jagla, Chief Demand Officer at Unimaginable Meals, tells VegNews. “We consider this partnership will fulfill cravings for scrumptious Unimaginable dishes on their iconic all-day menu.”
Plant-based choices at IHOP
Along with the brand new Unimaginable gadgets, IHOP has additionally added new and seasonal menu choices, similar to pot roast, Belgian waffles, and buttermilk biscuits—none of that are vegan-friendly.
The breakfast chain has been the topic of a number of animal-rights campaigns through the years, together with a 2019 petition asking for IHOP so as to add vegan pancakes to its menu. Launched by activists from Vegan Outreach and Animal Outlook (then-called “Compassion Over Killing”), the petition made the case for including a plant-based model of the chain’s most iconic menu merchandise.
IHOP
“Pancakes have been round for hundreds of years and are a beloved breakfast staple throughout the nation,” the petition said. “However surprisingly, one of many nation’s most well-known pancake giants, IHOP, doesn’t provide a vegan model of the favored deal with for the tens of millions of acutely aware shoppers who’re hungry for plant-based choices.”
It gained greater than 20,000 signatures prompting the chain to concern a press release.
“Though our vegetarian/vegan choices are restricted, that’s one thing we’re intently wanting into,” IHOP said.
In 2022, one forward-thinking location Flip’d by IHOP, a fast-casual offshoot of the breakfast chain, in New York Metropolis delved right into a vegan breakfast sandwich with the Plant Primarily based Cali sandwich that featured a vegan sausage breakfast patty created particularly for IHOP by vegetarian model Candy Earth, mung bean-based Simply Egg, arugula, roasted tomatoes, and avocado, all served on a vegan bun. This merchandise, nonetheless, didn’t make it to IHOP’s nationwide menu.
Now that Unimaginable’s plant-based meat is formally on the menu, VegNews has reached out to IHOP to inquire about its plans to launch different gadgets nationally, together with vegan pancakes.
Unimaginable strikes in on plant-based breakfast
The launch of plant-based meats at IHOP follows a number of main strikes into the breakfast class for Unimaginable Meals.
Jamba added the Unimaginable Handwich vegetarian breakfast sandwich in 2021, and an Unimaginable sausage-filled sandwich has additionally been a breakfast staple on the Starbucks menu since 2020—nonetheless, this construct consists of dairy cheese and eggs.
In January, Unimaginable’s plant-based sausage additionally hit the menu of 7-Eleven shops throughout Canada in January as a part of a construct that features Simply Egg and Violife Cheese. This sandwich is plant-based with out modifications.
Unimaginable Meals
Final 12 months, the corporate’s plant-based sausage additionally arrived at 600 Cracker Barrel Previous Nation Retailer places, stirring up some controversy from patrons of the Tennessee-based chain.
Whereas the Unimaginable sausage didn’t substitute any menu gadgets, prospects took to social media to voice their considerations, with one stating in all capital letters: “You’ll be able to take my pork sausage whenever you pry it from my chilly, useless palms. Don’t tread on my pork.”
IHOP’s sister firm, Applebee’s, additionally started testing the Unimaginable Burger at choose places in 2018, and final 12 months, the chain added the vegetarian Unimaginable Cheeseburger to its nationwide menu. Competing breakfast chain Denny’s beforehand provided a Past Burger nationally however has changed the patty with one made by Dr. Praeger’s.
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Anna Starostinetskaya is the Senior Information Editor at VegNews and is at all times maintaining a tally of all issues vegan in her dwelling metropolis of San Francisco, CA and in all places else.
