McDonald's will be entering a different kind of food fight in 2021 with the launch of its plant-based burger.
As the vegan and vegetarian community rapidly grows, fast-food giants are becoming geared towards introducing more greens to their menu.
According to NBC News, McDonald's recently announced that it would soon be offering a meatless burger called the McPlant.
In a related report from BBC, McDonald's has already partnered with Beyond Meat, a pioneer in plant-based meat production.
The new McPlant, which are plant-based burgers, was first tested in Canada. This move is said to be primarily driven by concerns over the effect of meat on health, animal welfare, and the environment.
It was last September when McDonald's started testing its plant-based burger called the P.L.T. It stands for plant, lettuce, and tomato that features a non-meat patty developed exclusively by Beyond Meat.
A spokesperson for Beyond Meat confirmed that McDonald's co-created the plant-based patty that will be part of the McPlant platform.
Research analyst with Euromonitor International, Alex Jarman, said other fast-food chains gained an advantage over McDonald's by launching plant-based options on their menus in recent years.
He noted that vegan and vegetarian consumers might have avoided McDonald's and opted for chains with these options.
He also said that the launch of plant-based products by the world's largest fast-food chain would challenge these brands' influence on the plant-based market. Jarman believes that this move will open a new channel for sales growth and attract customers interested in vegan fast-food options.
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Offering Something Different
In order to add meatless options to their menus, fast-food chains often partner with Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, which are the two most prominent icons of the plant-based industry.
However, McDonald's claims that while testing their new product, they made sure that the McPlant will not only appeal to vegan and vegetarian fans but meat lovers as well.
They said that the McPlant would create the illusion of a meat patty with a similar taste instead of mimicking the traditional veggie burgers made from ground vegetables.
Following The Plant-based Craze
Other fast-food giants are also following in the footsteps of Burger King, Carl's Jr., and White Castle, which have partnered with Impossible Foods to offer plant-based burgers.
On the other hand, Beyond Meat collaborated with Del Taco and Dunkin' to introduce plant-based alternatives.
Pizza Hut became the first national pizza chain to introduce plant-based meat pizzas across the country with their recent partnership with Beyond Meat. The collaboration allows Pizza Hut to offer new meatless pizzas like Beyond Italian Sausage and Great Beyond pizzas.
New Growth Strategy
McDonald's International President Ian Borden said the announcements were part of the company's new growth strategy.
With a forecast made by Barclays Bank with the consumption of meat alternatives reaching $140 billion by 2029, McDonald's seems to be on the right track for making a move into the vegan food game.
McDonald's also mentioned that in the future, the McPlant would most likely extend across a line of plant-based products, including their chicken-substitutes and breakfast sandwiches.
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