Better late to the plant-party than never.
From Beyond Burgers at BurgerFi to Burger King’s Impossible Whopper, the plant-based fast food craze has been underway for at least a few years now, which is why it’s a bit of a puzzler that McDonald’s has waited so long to get on board the bandwagon. Mickey D’s is, of course, one of the eternal frontrunners of the fast food industry, but for the most part, they’ve been mum on the possibility of a plant-based burger to enter in the competition. However, recently the word went out that they were teaming up with BeyondMeat for a green burger of their own, and sure enough, it has begun to surface at select restaurants.
According to a Bloomberg report, McDonald’s first plant-based sandwich, the McPlant, has begun stealth testing at select McDonald’s locations in Denmark and Sweden. In fact, according to the report, the testing actually began as early as last month, so I guess they’ve been doing a decent job of keeping it under wraps.
HOT: @McDonalds has chosen Denmark + Sweden for initial trials of its McPlant burger, which features a patty co-developed w/ @BeyondMeat. McD's CEO says McPlant will be"flexible;" could be sold as a chicken or breakfast item in the future. via @PattonLes: https://t.co/x41YOwRn7x pic.twitter.com/4tp8gbzcxj
— The Good Food Institute (@GoodFoodInst) February 1, 2021
The McPlant is made with a Beyond Meat burger patty, which is composed of pea and rice proteins to replicate a typical beef burger. In addition to the plant patty, the sandwich is topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup. In the interest of full disclosure, McDonald’s also clarified that the McPlant burgers are being cooked on the same grilling surface as the regular burger patties. This was a sticking point for many vegans back when Burger King was rolling out the Impossible Whopper, which could cost McDonald’s some business.
McDonald’s is technically ready to pull the trigger on a worldwide rollout of the McPlant, but they want to get a little more consumer information before they commit. As such, the current testing schedule will continue in Sweden until March 15, while the Denmark test will run until April 12.