The McPlant is a plant-based McDonald's burger made with Beyond Meat. Photo courtesy of McDonald's
The McPlant is a budding hit for McDonald’s.
Why it matters: The initial success of Mickey D's long-awaited Beyond Meat burger bodes well for a growing number of fast-food and fast-casual chains debuting plant-based meat.
- The additional revenue for plant-based food manufacturers could lead to additional scale and price reductions.
Driving the news: In restaurants where the McPlant is being tested, it’s been three times more popular than expected, according to Piper Sandler analyst Michael Lavery's early estimates, as reported by CNBC.
- The test will expand from a handful of restaurants to about 600 McDonald’s locations in the San Francisco Bay and Dallas-Fort Worth areas on Feb. 14.
The big picture: Earlier this month, Chipotle introduced plant-based chorizo, and KFC debuted plant-based fried chicken. Burger King debuted the Impossible Burger nationwide in 2019. But McDonald’s is the biggest of them all — and its move could prove to be a significant accelerant.