Do Americans want plant-based options at fast-food restaurants? Two recent moves show restaurant chains are still undecided.
On Wednesday, Panda Express said it is reintroducing plant-based chicken — which it developed with California-based Beyond Meat — at hundreds of U.S. stores. Beyond Orange Chicken will be available for a limited time, Panda Express said.
But last week, McDonald’s revealed it has pulled the plug in the U.S. on the McPlant, the plant-based burger it co-developed with Beyond Meat. During an appearance at the Wall Street Journal’s Global Food Forum, McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger said the company’s 2022 test of the McPlant at stores in San Francisco and Dallas was “not successful in either market.”
“I don’t think the U.S. consumer is … looking for the McPlant or other plant-based proteins from McDonald’s,” Erlinger said.