Burger King has seen sales jump 18% with the help of the meatless “Impossible Burger,” which the chain has been testing out since April.

The alternative meats industry has carved out a unique little niche for itself. Impossible Foods appears to have started the trend, as they announced the Impossible Burger 2.0, which boasts a better taste than its predecessor. In April of 2019, Burger King announced the Impossible Whopper, while several other chains did so as well. Qdoba will be offering Impossible Meat bowls in all US locations, while Del Taco announced that it would offer Beyond Beef’s alternative to beef.

This all represents a significant period of growth for the niche meatless meat industry. The current trend may even be offering a glimpse into a diverse, or at least different-than-expected future for meat. A large part of the trend has more to do with animal welfare, as over 9 billion animals are raised and killed on factory farms in the US every year. The animal welfare aspect comes alongside the results of studies which have been coming out for years stating that America’s factory farm system has contributed to increased antibiotic resistance and climate change, among other things. Consumers are setting several environmentally-friendly and animal-welfare related trends at the moment. Other examples include the fight against fur in the fashion industry and the fight against plastic straws in the UK and US.

For Burger King, embracing the alternative meat trend appears to be paying off. The test locations for the Impossible Whopper received far more foot traffic than their counterparts. Consumers are interested in the taste of this new form of meat, as the patties themselves are known to “bleed” just as normal meat does.