LOUISVILLE, KY. — By 2030, Yum! Brands Inc. has set a goal of achieving 50% of its menu food offerings at its KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and The Habit Burger Grill locations to be consistent with the company’s global nutrition criteria for meal options. As of the end of 2021, the brands are 64% of the way to meeting that goal, putting the company on track to achieve its target, according to Yum! Brands.

Progress against the nutrition criteria goal and various other goals were highlighted in Yum! Brands’ Global Citizenship and Sustainability Report issued July 20.

“In terms of our food, we remain focused on safety, listening and responding to customers’ evolving preferences, and improving the nutritional value of our menu items,” David Gibbs, chief executive officer of Yum! Brands, noted in the report. “We continue to introduce relevant and distinctive plant-based offerings at our brands, including in restaurants in the United States, Canada and Europe.”

Among its goals, Yum! Brands has made it a priority to offer plant-forward innovations to meet the lifestyle choices of consumers. In 2021, Yum! Brands said its Taco Bell vegetarian offerings represented more than 12% of sales. Taco Bell offers more than 30 vegetarian ingredients on its menu that can be combined for nearly 1 million combinations, Yum! Brands said.

Other plant-forward innovations included the launch of Impossible Burgers at The Habit Burger Grill and the introduction of plant-based cheeses in Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom at Pizza Hut. The company also has made Beyond Pepperoni a permanent menu item in some markets.

Another goal falling under the “Balanced Choices” umbrella involves clean label. Yum! Brands said it continues to make progress on removing artificial colors, flavors and partially hydrogenated oils from core food ingredients globally by 2025. Yum! Brands noted in the report that it has removed 94% of artificial coloring, 86% of artificial flavors and 95% of partially hydrogenated oils as of the end of 2021.

Under its “Raised Responsibly” umbrella, Yum! Brands has set out to be a good steward of the animals raised for food throughout its supply chain. The company has set a goal within its Taco Bell units of reducing the use of antibiotics important to human medicine in its US and Canada beef supply chain by 25% by 2025, while Pizza Hut US will remove them in chicken used in wings by 2022.