Arby's Developed a Carrot Made Out of Meat, Turning the Tables on the Plant-Based Burger Trend

In an unexpected twist, the plant-based meat movement is proving to be a boon for Arby's. While major chains like Burger King have grabbed headlines by offering meat-free options from the likes of Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, and other chains like McDonald's get stuck in the "will they or won't they" side of the discussion, Arby's has seized the opportunity to firmly align with carnivores, doubling down on their "We Have the Meats" slogan.

Last month, Arby's turned heads by openly proclaiming it was "absolutely impossible" that they would ever offer plant-based menu items. Now, today, the chain reaffirmed their commitment to trolling the plant-based trend: "If we can make meat from plants, why can't we make plants from meat?" Arby's pondered. The result: "the world's first 'Meat Vegetable' — or 'Megetable.'"

"Arby's announced today its exploration into this new form of protein that looks like a vegetable and contains vitamin content found in a raw vegetable — but is made of meat," the company wrote. "The first Megetable Arby's is bringing to life is the 'Marrot.' You guessed it — it looks just like a real carrot. Arby's Marrot is made with Arby's tender, marinated 100 percent turkey breast and a special carrot marinade made from dried carrot juice powder. It is cooked sous vide before being oven-roasted, contains more than 30g of protein and is a good source of Vitamin A (more than 70% of the daily recommended value)."

A video posted by Arby's shows how the whole thing goes down — to the point where you may even be able to make a meat carrot at home…

"We've never created anything like this," Vice President of Culinary Innovation & Brand Executive Chef Neville Craw explained. "But most of the product development Arby's works on is new to the industry. That's the exciting part of this job; we're always innovating and hungry for more knowledge."

Arby's Chief Marketing Officer Jim Taylor hammered that idea home. "We want to continue to innovate in the space of meat craft that never existed before in ways that are surprising and delicious and exceed the expectations of what you can get through a drive-thru," he said. "Culinary innovation is one of the key tenants of Arby's. We test more than 1,000 menu items per year, and we remain committed to providing our guests with the highest quality meats in the industry."

At this point, Arby's says it's only "in the early stages of exploring the Megetables concept," so don't expect to see the Marrot on menus yet. But if standing up for meat continues to offer these kinds of marketing opportunities for the chain, don't be surprised if veggies made of meats actually land on Arby's menus one of these news cycles.