There’s a new item coming to Taco Bell stores for people looking for a meatless alternative - or even those who dabble in one once in a while.

“Taco Bell has been long known as a destination for vegetarians, and our fans are super curious about plant-based protein and they expect innovation from us,” said Missy Schaaphok, Taco Bell’s director of global nutrition and sustainability.

Taco Bell and Beyond Meat announced its plant-based Beyond Carne Asada will be making its way to about 50 Dayton, Ohio stores starting on October 13. The product, which will be available in Taco Bell quesadillas and can be substituted for its meat-based carne asada for no additional cost in additional items, took around two years to develop.

This is the first time a plant-based steak has made it to a quick-service restaurant, Schaaphok said. Taco Bell, which has always offered vegetarian alternatives, saw this as an opportunity to appeal to those who are looking for other options. The two teams took care to make sure the taste and mouth-feel of regular carne asada matched the bespoke plant-based carne asada specifically developed for the fast-food chain. The company has tested three other plant-based proteins at its stores outside of the Beyond partnership, according to CNBC.

The Beyond Carne Asada had a similar taste and texture to the regular Carne Asada, although it did look like it was sliced in slightly smaller pieces. Looking at the protein itself, you could see the different striations just like regular meat. It was very hard to taste the difference between the original product and the plant-based alternative, especially because the marinade and flavors came through.

“We’re really seeing this proliferation of what we’re calling flexitarians, who want to eat meat a little less often,” she said. “When they do, they want that plant-based protein to taste just like its plant-based counterpart.”

Beyond Meat has been trying to find an audience with people who want to choose meat alternatives for health or environmental concerns, but may not want to make the full commitment to go meatless. However, the company noted during its last earnings report in July that consumer concerns over inflationary costs at the grocery store have caused people to buy less plant-based proteins. It cut its revenue outlook for 2022 to between $470 million to $520 million, from its original projections of $560 million to $620 million, and laid off about 4 percent of its staff at the time.