McDonald’s, one of the United States’ biggest fast-food companies, has announced plans to create a new line – McPlant Line, which will ensure that customers who wish to opt for plant-based food will get their pick. The company announced that it will begin testing a McPlant burger that will contain meatless patties from next year.
The McPlant line has been created in partnership with Beyond Meat according to reports. A spokesperson of Beyond Meat told reporters that the company is in a partnership with McDonald’s to create the McPlant line and cater to the needs of people who wish to avoid meat.
Ian Borden, International President of McDonald’s announced that the franchise will begin to introduce the McPlant burger in different outlets from 2021. The initial introduction of the burgers will be to test its success in the markets according to Borden. He said the plant-based line which was created “by McDonald’s and McDonald’s” could also introduce delicious replacements for chicken.
The company has not revealed the company that will supply products for the line but a spokesperson revealed that the company will not manufacture the items needed itself. However, a spokesperson for Beyond Meat announced that the company is part of the manufacturers of the plant-based patty that will be used for the McPlant burgers, CNN reports.
The announcement has been good for Beyond Meat’s business as its shares saw an increase of 4% on Monday afternoon after it fell by about 6% earlier in the day. The shares of the company which were stopped from being traded for sometime on Monday for being volatile have dropped by less than 1%. McDonald’s shares also rose by less than 1% late in the afternoon on Monday.
This is not the maiden voyage of plant-based options in the McDonald’s menu. McDonald’s restaurants in Ontario, Canada tested Beyond Meat patties that were produced without meat in September 2019. The tests were stopped in April and McDonald’s revealed that the plant-based burgers will not be reintroduced in the restaurants anytime soon. The test was carried out in dozens of McDonald’s restaurants in Ontario
One of the board members of Beyond Meat is Don Thompson, the former CEO of McDonald’s. Experts are speculating that the new partnership that saw the creation of the McPlant line could lead to a longer relationship between McDonald’s and Beyond Meat as well as secure Beyond a chance to supply products for McDonald’s which is rated the biggest restaurant chain in the U.S in terms of sales.
McDonald’s restaurants in Germany and some other international markets of the company have adopted plant-based options into their menus. Restaurants of the chain in Germany sell veggie burgers supplied by Nestle. Chris Kempczinski, CEO of McDonald’s stated that each market will be left with the decision to add plant-based options to their menus when they wish based on demand.
Another giant food company in the United States, Burger King is already serving plant-based options with its plant-based Whooper which was added to menus in the United States last year.
Source: cnbc.com
