German discounter Aldi has launched a plant-based burger in its 800 UK stores.

The retailer, which holds a near 8% share of the £190bn (€215bn) grocery market in the UK, says its new “Meat-Free Quarter Pounder” is made from soya protein sourced in the UK and is designed to look, taste and even “bleed” like a real beef burger.

Aldi’s new plant-based burger is also very competitively priced at £2.49/227g pack of two burgers (£11/kg), which is significantly cheaper than the rival “Beyond Burger” at £5.50/200g pack (£27.50/kg).

To compare, Aldi’s range of beefburgers and quarter pounder burgers typically range in price from £4.20/kg to a top of £5.50/kg.

Over the busy Christmas period, Aldi said it enjoyed sales growth of more than 10%

Aldi UK says its new range of plant-based burgers is designed to provide customers with an alternative to meat, appealing to both vegans and meat-reducers alike.

Meanwhile, Aldi Ireland has announced plans to open seven new stores in Ireland in 2019 and will invest €60m to revamp and refurb its existing network of Irish stores.

Aldi said it will create 500 new jobs across the company as a result of its continued expansion.

The German discounter has grown its share of the €11bn Irish grocery market to just under 11%.

Over the busy Christmas period, Aldi said it enjoyed sales growth of more than 10% for the week commencing 17 December, which far outperformed the overall Irish grocery market, which grew by 3% in December.