The Czech Republic's top vegan-friendly fast food chains, ranked

The popularity of plant-based food products is increasing across the globe, though the Czech Republic lags behind many of its neighbors. Still, the number of vegan-friendly offerings at the country's fast food chains has been on the increase in recent years.

Proveg, an international non-profit organization that promotes plant-based alternatives to animal products in multiples countries across the world, conducted a survey of the Czech Republic's fast food chains in September to determine which were offering the highest number of vegan-friendly meals.

Twelve fast food chains were compared in the survey, and included both global brands that were localized for the Czech market as well as those that only operate within the Czech Republic.

The survey compared the number of plant-based main meals on a fast food chain's menu, the number of plant-based side dishes and desserts, labeling of vegan-friendly options, and the prominence of plant-based options in the chain's promotional material.

The winner? Subway was found to be the Czech Republic's most vegan-friendly fast food chain. The fast food restaurant was found to have the overall greatest number of plant-based options on its menu, as well as scoring points for vegan-friendly labeling and marketing.

While Subway operates the highest number of branches of any fast food chain across the world, however, they've scaled back the number of their Czech locations since entering the local market more than a decade ago. Subway now operates three Prague locations, with another four in Brno, two in Ostrava, and one in Olomouc.

Interestingly, two Prague-based fast food chains were found to be the next most vegan-friendly according to the Proveg survey. Burrito Loco, Prague's answer to Taco Bell, as well as the Asian noodle bar Wokin, came in second and third in the Proveg rankings.

Popular burger chains McDonald's and Burger King, which have both unveiled new plant-based menus on the Czech market in recent years, also scored high for their vegan-friendly offerings.

However, Proveg noted that McDonald's only offers plant-based burgers with animal-based cheeses, which turn potentially vegan-friendly options into only vegetarian-friendly results. While customers can always request their burgers without cheese, the chain doesn't currently offer a plant-based cheese alternative.

"When introducing new products to our offer, we always test whether there is interest in the given product through surveys and interviews. We know that taste is one of the most important factors for our customers when making decisions," says McDonald's PR and Communications Director Jitka Pajurková

"That's why our [plant-based burger] also contains cheese, so that its taste is really balanced. We also know that at the moment there is a greater demand for vegetarian products in the Czech Republic compared to vegan ones, which is why we decided to go this route."

Coffee chains Starbucks and Cross Cafe (but not Costa Coffee) also rated high, with Starbucks scoring the highest points for the prominence of plant-based options in its marketing and advertising.

The big loser? Pizza Hut, which has exactly zero vegan-friendly offerings on its Czech menu. Despite this, the chain has invested heavily in plant-based options in other countries, where it offers vegan cheeses and plant-based pepperoni and sausages.

Adding up all the fast food chains in the survey, a total of just 9 percent of main meals were found to be vegan-friendly, while 34 percent of side dishes and 24 percent of desserts were made from plant-based sources.

You can see the full results of the Proveg survey of the Czech Republic's top vegan-friendly fast food chains here.