McDonald’s new plant-based burger, which the company announced in November, has debuted for a trial run in Denmark and Sweden, according to Bloomberg. Dubbed the McPlant, the burger features a patty made from pea and rice proteins, which was co-developed with Beyond Meat.
The trials began in January and will last until March 15th in Sweden and April 12th in Denmark. The McPlant’s Scandinavian success will be evaluated before potentially rolling out to other markets.
The patty is cooked on the same grill as beef burgers, so it’s not technically vegan (or vegetarian, depending on your dietary strictness). Nonetheless, a press release from McDonald’s Sweden pitches the McPlant as the latest option for “flexitarians” — people who are loosely vegetarian but still eat some meat.
McDonald’s and Beyond collaborated previously with the “P.L.T.” in Canada, but it’s unclear if the McPlant partnership will continue past these early trials. “While McDonald’s will source the McPlant patties for the tests through Beyond Meat, it didn’t specify the suppliers for future roll-outs,” says Bloomberg.
The McPlant is the latest in a trend of fast food companies going in on simulated meats. In recent years, Burger King, Dunkin’, Starbucks, KFC, and others have all dabbled with products from either Beyond Meat or its competitor, Impossible Foods.
