Speaking at the Wall Street Journal‘s Global Food Forum in Chicago last week and reported in the US media, McDonald’s US president Joe Erlinger said that the company had no plans to roll out the plant-based burger following its trial in two cities.
The fast-food giant had trialled the burger in San Francisco and Dallas, but Erlinger said that the burger had failed to impress customers in either city.
“It was not successful in either market, and so I don’t think the US consumer is coming to McDonald’s looking for the McPlant or other plant-based proteins,” he said.
McDonald's chose the UK for the launch of the McPlant, which is developed in partnership with plant-based food producer Beyond Meat, in September 2021 because of the UK’s strong vegan market. Over the past few years, however, vegan fast-food chains in the UK have struggled with poor sales with vegan brands including Flower Burger and The Vurger Co closing on these shores and brands such as Neat Burger contracting.
In the US, Erlinger said McDonald’s would instead focus on chicken. “The bigger trend around protein consumption is really around chicken, and we think we’re poised to serve that trend well,” he added.