McDonald’s Takes a Bite Out of the Plant-Based Competition with the ‘P.L.T.’

While McDonald’s has offered vegetarian-friendly meat options abroad, the P.L.T. (a.k.a. Plant, Lettuce and Tomato) launch in Canada is the QSR’s first foray into North American markets. This is a huge change from May of 2019, when CNBC reported that CEO Steve Easterbrook had “nothing much to say about it at the moment.” Easterbrook went on to say, “I certainly know our teams are paying close attention and discussing this amongst each other,” but other representatives cited operational barriers as reason for lack of participation in the new trend.

“We obviously have to assess whether consumer demand [would be at a] level we believe would be sustained and make the right decision based on how the model works and the important complex considerations of our restaurant,” said Silvia Lagnado, McDonald’s global chief marketing officer and director of its menu, to CNBC.

There is no doubt that the success of long-time rival Burger King’s Impossible Whopper has motivated McDonald’s to get into the game. CNBC reported that McDonald’s is in fact teaming up with Beyond Meats to launch the P.L.T. According to CNBC, the P.L.T. will be cooked on the same grill as meat products much like Burger King’s Impossible Whopper.

While one test-run within a network of 28 Canadian restaurants is a far cry from the nationwide rollout of other plant-based patties, this will certainly generate buzz for the iconic brand. Considering the wide reach of McDonald’s—more than double that of Burger King’s—Beyond Meat will have to be careful so as to avoid shortages.