---
title: "McDonald’s Takes a Bite Out of the Plant-Based Competition with the ‘P.L.T.’"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/070c53be-620b-4fc5-931d-8d951741acd5
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/mcdonalds-takes-a-bite-out-of-the-plant-based-competition-with-the-plt-2711136
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
published: 2019-10-01T19:14:13.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:29:31.516Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/996b4efbf61efc2ae4d19cefec56f9b88116.jpg
---

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

**TL;DR:** McDonald's launched the 'P.L.T.' in Canada, its first foray into North American plant-based meat options. The P.L.T. is a result of McDonald's teaming up with Beyond Meats, motivated by the success of Burger King's Impossible Whopper.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2019-10-01. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/mcdonalds-takes-a-bite-out-of-the-plant-based-competition-with-the-plt-2711136).*

## Story

**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****.**

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- McDonald's (company)
- Burger King (company)
- canada (location)
- menu expansion (topic)
- Beyond Meat (company)
- competition (topic)
- qsr market (topic)
- plant-based meat (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/mcdonalds-takes-a-bite-out-of-the-plant-based-competition-with-the-plt-2711136). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/070c53be-620b-4fc5-931d-8d951741acd5).