One of the largest beef customers in the world will begin selling a plant-based alternative after “an encouraging response” to the product last year.
McDonald’s says the McPlant burger “delivers our iconic taste” and will be served on a sesame seed bun with the chain’s classic toppings. The product was tested in select Canadian restaurants last year as the PLT (for plant, lettuce, and tomato) burger, and now more markets “can adopt the McPlant when they’re ready,” the chain noted, suggesting some will “test the burger next year.”
Reports of McDonald’s collaborating with Beyond Meat to create the burger have not been confirmed by the fast food chain, but Beyond CEO Ethan Brown alluded to a connection between the two companies in an earnings call Monday. He said Beyond “worked very hard on developing the burger that was in the PLT, and it will be in the McPlant.” However, he did not address questions of the scale of the possible rollout, saying that would be up to McDonald’s.
“Everything that I’ve been doing and our research team has been doing is marching toward a particular outcome with them, and I feel good about that,” Brown said.
McDonald’s also plans to make some other changes in its beef preparation — searing in smaller batches and adding onions to burgers at the grill — and add a new crispy chicken sandwich in 2021.
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