McDonald’s Launching a P.L.T. burger in Canada in Partnership with Beyond Meat

McDonald’s has announced that it is launching a meat-free burger in 28 locations in Canada. The trial will take place in South Western Ontario, It is made with Beyond Meat’s vegan patty.

The burger is described as the Beyond Meat P.L.T. which stands for plant, lettuce, and tomato. The food giant describes the PLT as “a delicious, juicy, perfectly dressed plant-based burger on a warm, soft, sesame seed bun” with no artificial colours, artificial flavours, or artificial preservatives. It is they say a great-tasting “open wide and sink your teeth into it” sandwich.

“McDonald’s has a proud legacy of fun, delicious and craveable food—and now, we’re extending that to a test of a juicy, plant-based burger,” Ann Wahlgren, McDonald’s Vice President of Global Menu Strategy, said in the company’s press release. “We’ve been working on our recipe and now we’re ready to hear feedback from our customers.”  

The test will last for 12 weeks.

Vegan Food At McDonald’s

The new Beyond Meat P.L.T. is a first for McDonald’s North America, amid speculation that it may be on the verge of teeming up with Impossible Foods for a USA launch.

Beyond Meat are clearly delighted to be in partnership with McDonald’s. The company’s CEO and Founder, Ethan Brown said in a statement that “being of service to McDonald’s has been a central and defining goal of mine since founding Beyond Meat over a decade ago. It comes after a long and productive collaboration to make a delicious plant-based patty that fits seamlessly into McDonald’s menu, and we’re thrilled with the outcome.”

McDonald’s does have vegan offerings in Germany, Israel, Finland and the UK.

There has been a lack of clarity about McDonald’s strategy to embrace the vegan trend. It has not been as nimble as Burger King who has been much quicker to embrace the new consumer demand. Their Impossible Whopper appears to have been an unqualified success. We can expect further developments shortly.