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McDonald’s and Beyond Meat are expanding their McPlant line of plant-based products with the addition of McPlant Nuggets and the Mc Plant burger in Germany, starting on February 22.
The vegan nuggets are made from peas, corn, wheat, and tempura breading. The fast-food chain is also adding the McPlant burger to its menu in Germany. McDonald’s and Beyond Meat have been working together since 2019 when they signed a three-year deal for Beyond Meat to become the preferred patty supplier for McDonald’s McPlant burger. Since then, the burger has been permanently added to menus in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands, and now Germany.
Beyond Meat’s chicken has been available in restaurants since mid-2021, when the company rolled out its revamped recipe. But the new McPlant Nuggets are an exclusive recipe for McDonald’s in Germany, and will be available at all 1,429 restaurants across the country.
Despite the expansion of the McPlant line, Beyond Meat’s sales have been disappointing over the past year, and the company’s stock value has dropped by 75 percent. Last October, Beyond announced it would lay off 19 percent of its workforce.
But Beyond Meat continues to move forward; the company’s stock closed up 12 percent on Wednesday prior to the announcement of the McPlant Nuggets. Beyond Meat is expected to report its fourth-quarter results on February 23 after the bell.
Vegan fast-food demand
In recent years, many fast-food chains, including Burger King, KFC, and Subway, have introduced vegetarian or vegan options to their menus to cater to health-conscious consumers who want to reduce their meat intake. Most recently, chicken chain Chick-fil-A added a cauliflower-based vegetarian sandwich option.
Beyond Meat, which was founded in 2009, has been at the forefront of this trend, developing meat substitutes made from plant-based ingredients.
Although McDonald’s and Beyond Meat have been expanding the availability of their McPlant products in Europe, it is unclear when the McPlant line will reappear in the U.S. McDonald’s and Beyond ended their U.S. test of the McPlant burger in 2022 and haven’t announced any plans for additional testing or a nationwide launch.
The market for plant-based meat substitutes is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. According to a recent report from MarketsandMarkets, the global plant-based meat market is expected to reach $8.3 billion by 2025, up from $4.6 billion in 2020. The report cites increasing consumer demand for plant-based products, as well as improvements in the taste and texture of meat substitutes, as key factors driving the market.
Germany, like much of Europe, has seen a steady rise in demand for vegan options. Earlier this year, Singapore-based vegan chicken brand Tindle, announced the launch of six vegan chicken products at more than 6,000 German supermarkets.
