McDonald’s expands Beyond Meat burger test, while Impossible Foods ends pursuit of deal with fast-food chain
bizjournals.com
Beyond Meat has gained ground in the plant-based burger battle, with the company now expanding a test with McDonald’s while rival Impossible Foods ends its pursuit of a deal with the world’s largest fast-food chain.
McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) said it is expanding its test of a Beyond Meat plant-based burger in Canada.
Starting Jan. 14, McDonald’s will roll out its initial trial of the P.L.T., its plant-based patty, lettuce and tomato burger, for 12 weeks across 52 restaurants in southwestern Ontario.
“We gathered a lot of feedback in the initial test about what people like about the P.L.T.,” said Michaela Charette, head of consumer insights for McDonald’s Canada, according to Fox Business Network. “As we expand the test, we’re continuing to listen to our guests across southwestern Ontario and assess the appetite for a plant-based alternative within the McDonald’s menu.”
Chicago-based McDonald’s initially launched a 12-week test of the plant-based burger in September at 28 Canadian locations. Jeff Anderson, chef at McDonald's Canada, said the initial test was used to gauge demand and see how McDonald's might work the menu item into kitchen operations, according to Investor’s Business Daily.
Meanwhile, Impossible Foods said it is no longer trying to win a deal to supply McDonald’s with its plant-based burgers, telling Reuters it can’t produce enough of the product to partner with the restaurant chain.
Reuters said it was unclear how far talks had progressed with McDonald’s, which declined to comment on the discussions.
Impossible Foods CEO Pat Brown told Reuters in an interview that the company was working to more than double production instead of trying to win a deal the size of McDonald’s.
“It would be stupid for us to be vying for them right now,” Brown said. “Having more big customers right now doesn’t do us any good until we scale up production.”
</snip> Read the rest here: bizjournals.com |
