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McDonald's Says No Thanks To Plant-Based Burgers (qz.com) 132

Posted by msmash from the tough-luck dept.
An anonymous reader shares a report: A top executive at McDonald's says the chain does not have plans to bring back plant-based options after a test of its McPlant burger in San Francisco and Dallas failed. "It was not successful in either market," Joe Erlinger, McDonald's U.S. president, said during the Wall Street Journal Global Food Forum in Chicago on Wednesday.

American consumers are not coming to McDonald's looking for a McPlant burger or other plant-based proteins, Erlinger added. The chain had previously partnered with Beyond Meat to make McPlant burgers and nuggets. Plant-based items are off the menu for now, but Erlinger didn't rule out the possibility that salads could one day make a return. That'll depend on whether customer demand is there.

"If people really want salads from McDonald's, we will gladly relaunch salads," Erlinger said. "But what our experience has proven is that's not what the consumer is looking for from McDonald's." Instead, consumers are looking for french fries, $5 meal deals, and hot, fresh sandwiches, he added.

McDonald's Says No Thanks To Plant-Based Burgers More | Reply

McDonald's Says No Thanks To Plant-Based Burgers

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  • McPlant McFacePlants (Score:5, Funny)

    by niftydude ( 1745144 ) on Thursday June 27, 2024 @08:09PM (#64583921)
    Thank you, I'll be here all evening.

    • Yeah, don't give up your day job..

  • Well.....DUH! (Score:3)

    by registrations_suck ( 1075251 ) on Thursday June 27, 2024 @08:18PM (#64583937)

    I bet the meat-based corn and potatoes don't sell well either.

    • I bet the meat-based corn and potatoes don't sell well either.

      Those sound good. Is there somewhere else that I can get them?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mjwx ( 966435 )

      I bet the meat-based corn and potatoes don't sell well either.

      God damnit... what am I going to do with all this Morn and Porkato I've got ready to ship?

  • Blind Taste Test: McDonald's Beef vs. Plant-Based (Score:5, Funny)

    by klipclop ( 6724090 ) on Thursday June 27, 2024 @08:18PM (#64583939)
    If I were to blind taste test a McDonald's beef burger and a plant-based burger, I doubt I could tell the difference. I suspect that both are equally processed and unhealthy.

  • Approach (Score:2, Insightful)

    by rlwinm ( 6158720 )
    They chose the wrong approach. The only sensible way to create meat from plants is through a cow pathway. Plant protein processed by a cow that is then butchered and cooked is delicious and good for you.

    • The only sensible way to create meat from plants is through a cow pathway.

      I believe steers are an acceptable alternative to cow. I grew up on a dairy farm and ate many cows. It was only as a teen that we had steers to eat and I could not taste the difference, both were quite delicious.

      Plant protein processed by a cow that is then butchered and cooked is delicious and good for you.

      Meat is good food. I'm seeing evidence that having a high meat diet is good for one's physical and mental health. Cow is good food, so is steer. Pigs and chicken are perhaps cheaper alternatives with much the same benefits but beef is really good food. Eat some veggies but also eat cattle. Ca

    • Beef is meh compared to horse meat.

    • Good for you? Hardly! Cut out the middle man and just eat grass and seasonings directly!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gtall ( 79522 )

      Have you ever been to a slaughter house and meat processor? You aren't eating pure cow....not sure what you are eating.

  • McDonald's is too expensive anyway (Score:5, Insightful)

    by heptapod ( 243146 ) <heptapod@gmail.com> on Thursday June 27, 2024 @08:41PM (#64583979) Journal

    Making customers whore themselves with an app for "deals". Trying out an AI ordering system then dropping it. McDonald's needs to stick with what they know instead of soaking fatsos paying Five Guys prices for less-than-stellar fast food.

    • A double-double combo increased from 9.20 to 10.80 - more than 17%. That is quite a lot.

  • Maybe one day they'll bring back their pizza's, those were awesome.

  • No need to dress it up (Score:5, Informative)

    by ugen ( 93902 ) on Thursday June 27, 2024 @09:00PM (#64584009)

    Personally, I eat plant based food aplenty (not a vegetarian, nor am I an obligatory meat-eater). There are great many tasty options out there that do not include meat. The need to make non-meat look and taste like meat is misguided, IMO. "Obligatory" meat eaters, as a rule, will not be interested, and non-obligatory meateaters just don't need the fakery.

    • I'm a long-time vegan (over 30yrs), and try and read a lot of comments from non-vegans in threads like this, and I see this so much.

      I too am puzzled by the obsession. They keep making 'meatier and meatier' burgers, but it's not really having much impact.

      And I see comments like yours, which I interpret to say 'just make tasty food'. Similar comments are 'I really enjoy bean burgers and other veggie burgers that aren't actually trying to mirror the flavour of meat'.

      But no, these heavily invested companies kee

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dbialac ( 320955 )
        Too many don't understand that outside of vegetarian and vegan, nobody is looking for an alternative to meat. There's no sales pitch that will suddenly win everyone over. You might as well be pushing a small dog on a cat lover. There's still the same size, right? The cat lover is still going to want a cat. I've tried some meat alternatives, and there was one I used to get, but I didn't see them as a hamburger, just as a different sandwich option with a different flavor. And I agree: offer completely differe

    • Re:No need to dress it up (Score:5, Interesting)

      by kwerle ( 39371 ) <kurt@CircleW.org> on Friday June 28, 2024 @01:33AM (#64584385) Homepage Journal

      30 year vegetarian. I really like fake meatier burgers. I just wouldn't go to mkd's for one. There are about a dozen burger joints in 3 miles that have better food (small college town). About half of them have excellent vegetarian options. About a quarter of them have poor veggie burger options (but decent salads, etc). And about a quarter of them have no veggie burger options and very poor veggie options.

      There are 2 reasons to go to McDs: cheap food; it's the only thing open.

    • I imagine the plan was to usurp the meat industry with a similar but cheaper product, in theory potentially even tastier. If cows can do it I'm sure we can do it better. In fact I think it's inevitable in less than 1,000 years.

    • Fake meat that fakes meat is fucking dumb. As a vegetarian of almost ten years, I do not want to reminisce about how truly unappealing meat smells, tastes, feels whilst chewing, what it does to my guts...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mjwx ( 966435 )

      Personally, I eat plant based food aplenty (not a vegetarian, nor am I an obligatory meat-eater). There are great many tasty options out there that do not include meat. The need to make non-meat look and taste like meat is misguided, IMO. "Obligatory" meat eaters, as a rule, will not be interested, and non-obligatory meateaters just don't need the fakery.

      This is the first of my two problems with "meat replacement" products. If you're replacing meat you're pretty much admitting you still need meat in your diet. Otherwise you can go to literally thousands of vegetarian recipes that are filling, tasty and nutritious. I'm quite happy to make a meal without meat, it can be cheap and often good if you're not feeling that well (yeah, welcome to getting old).

      My other issue is, why aren't you openly saying what's in it? I don't care what it the "not meat" isn't,

    • Agree. I am very much not even sort of a vegetarian, but its not like tofu and beans aren't perfectly fine ingredients to a ton of tasty meals. Trying to warp them into meat-ish substitutes just gets you an odd tasting abomination that's worse for you.

  • I imagine McDonalds is investigating or developing lab grown options. Their top protein needs are pressed paties and fryable nugget meat which seem like prime candidates for industrial processes if they figure it out. I think we're at least a decade off but i bet eventually a lab grown pattie could pass a blind taste test and be cheaper overall.

  • Can do some nice things with tofu (Score:3)

    by Ogive17 ( 691899 ) on Thursday June 27, 2024 @09:40PM (#64584097)
    I've seen tofu used in creative ways that can be quite tasty. Maybe instead of trying to over-engineer something that directly replaces a meat patty, they can create a nice dish that is unique and simply a different option on the menu. Chipotle has Sofritas and while I still prefer chicken, it was good.
    • I was with you until you promoted Chipotle meatless options. Only the vegetarian is good. The fake things they have are awful. too much salt not any flavor, bad texture.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gtall ( 79522 )

      I'd go for just fried tofu in a square patty. The Japanese (American version) is agedashi tofu...crisp fried (in a batter) tofu. Beats the panties off any cow meat.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by flink ( 18449 )

        Agedashi tofu is usually cooked in fish broth and frequently served sprinkled with fish flakes. That's fine if you are a pescetarian, but not great for a strict vegan or vegetarian.

  • Misleading title (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Quackattack ( 7025236 ) on Thursday June 27, 2024 @10:04PM (#64584119)

    McDonald's didn't reject it, the consumer base rejected it.
    I see the same thing in grocery stores all the time. Full shelves of plant based meat products that no one is buying.

    It's time to admit this experiment has been a complete failure.

    • I have seen some vegan "meat alternatives" in stores and, yeah, it looked like nobody was buying them. Well, I bought some sausage just to try it. It tasted mostly like meat. So that's OK.
      However, its price was probably double that of a real sausage. The only people who would buy it are those who like the taste of meat, but do not want to eat meat for political reasons. Everyone else will either not buy meat (because they don't like it) or will just buy the real meat that's cheaper.

    • Re: Misleading title (Score:4, Insightful)

      by paul_engr ( 6280294 ) on Friday June 28, 2024 @04:03AM (#64584551)
      The last three times I've gone in mcdonalds (over the past decade, not counting piss breaks on road trips) I got lost i those insane TV menus they have. They could have offered a sack of $100 bills, bit nobody would ever know because of the utter chaos that is the always moving, completely illegible, designed by fuckwits menu. There's little chance anybody knew there were plant burgers

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by necro81 ( 917438 )

      I see the same thing in grocery stores all the time. Full shelves of plant based meat products that no one is buying.

      Not sure where you live, but I live in a place where the grocery store shelves - all of them - tend to be full all the time. The stores keep people on staff specifically to ensure the illusion (or reality) of boundless plenty by restocking continuously. Just by eye, I wouldn't know if this or that product had high or low turnover.

      You'd think that the grocery store would ditch a product

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dbialac ( 320955 )
        Where I live, during the Bud Light fiasco, there was a big difference. Bud light shelves were fully stocked. Stacks of cases were out in the isle with none of them removed. Coupons made them cheap as can be ($5 if I recall). Other AB beer was the same way. Every other cheap or light beer was nearly empty because there just wasn't enough supply for the demand. That led to craft beers selling fast. Sometimes that full impression can be just that: too much inventory.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by MobyDisk ( 75490 )

      Full shelves of plant based meat products that no one is buying.

      Are you saying a full shelf indicates that no one is buying it? Where I live, I see full shelves of meat-based meat products. But I don't conclude that no one is buying them. Since those items have shelf-lives, if you want to see if they are selling look at the price and the expiration date. The plant-based meat products are more expensive, which means the stores think they can charge a premium for them, similar to gluten-free products. Otherwise, supply and demand would require the prices go down.

  • Yeah, but... (Score:3)

    by denny_deluxe ( 1693548 ) on Thursday June 27, 2024 @10:20PM (#64584129)
    ...how many $5 meals do they have? One? Not sure his doublespeak will hold up.
  • Before they were removed from the menu, the salads were kept way beyond their shelf life, and served that way. It was the lowest form of salad imaginable. Back when they debuted, they were great really good quality, but after being around for decades it slipped badly. I would eat them again if they were good.

    • Before they were removed from the menu, the salads were kept way beyond their shelf life, and served that way. It was the lowest form of salad imaginable. Back when they debuted, they were great really good quality, but after being around for decades it slipped badly. I would eat them again if they were good.

      I never touched a McD Salad because I feared their "green salads" were truly GREEN. And now you confirm my concerns.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by DrXym ( 126579 )

      Salads were only put on the menu as tokenism "hey we have healthy options", even if there was no intention of promoting them as an alternative. McDonalds know better than anyone that ultra processed foods are addictive and they only enjoy repeat business by selling them. That's why governments need to legislate and control what they sell because the industry sure as hell won't.

  • Some time ago I made a stop to the local Burger King and made my usual order of Whopper with bacon and cheese, large fries, large Dr Pepper, and side salad only to be informed that they no longer offer salads. I don't know if this is something decided store by store or is franchise wide but I didn't get a salad like I had so many times before. I don't recall exactly when this happened but it must have been in the last couple years by my guess.

    Since I like my veggies I will often go to the local Chinese re

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by pjt33 ( 739471 )

      I had a side salad the last time I ate in a Burger King (at an airport about two years ago) and it was the most disappointing salad I've ever had. About a handful of wilted lettuce, two cherry tomatos, a teaspoon of sweetcorn and a slice of onion. Choosing not to put salad on the menu would have been an improvement.

      That aside, I'm not sure that you're using "food desert" in the same way as other people. I've only previously seen it in the context of lack of grocery shops selling fresh ingredients to cook at

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gtall ( 79522 )

      When they talk about food deserts they are talking about grocery stores.

  • At least that's how I read it, and my brain was: NOT fresh from Mc Donalds? Makes sense.

  • Trial goes - "try our plant burger it's $2 more than the normal burger but you'll pay that hipster tax right?" And then to the surprise of nobody trial fails and the conclusion is "nobody wants plant burgers". Foregone conclusion.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by necro81 ( 917438 )

      Trial goes - "try our plant burger it's $2 more than the normal burger but you'll pay that hipster tax right?" And then to the surprise of nobody trial fails and the conclusion is "nobody wants plant burgers". Foregone conclusion.

      I suspect it's more along the lines of:
      Regular McDonalds Customer: I'll have my usual. I don't bother reading the menu to see if they have anything new that their advertising could entice me to try.
      Vegetarians: I never go to McDonalds anyway. The fact that they're offering a

  • Beyond meat is fucking disgusting and McDonalds is fucking disgusting, so it seems like it should have been a match made in heaven.
  • I don't think it's a very smart decision. I am vegetarian. Some of my friends are, many not. But whenever we go eat somewhere they take into consideration that some people don't want to eat meat. So any restaurant without vegetarian options is skipped. They are not loosing just the vegetarians this way, but the rest of the group as well. (Not to claim that MCDonalds is such an amazing restaurant, but I will join if people want to go there and I can eat something)

  • All the times I have entered McDonalds and seen the McPlant in the menu, nothing about its name drove me to try it.

    I'm already liking having a couple of meat free burgers a week at home. Aldi to a "no beef" burger patty that is made from peas and has a decent texture. They also do a "no chicken" range including piri piri chicken fillets and burgers, which make a nice spicy burger. I like my burgers so to get a bit more veg into me I have those a couple of times a week, leaving usual meaty dinners as is l

  • Here in the UK, we have the McPlant as a regular menu item... and a salad bag is offered as an alternative to fries. I cannot believe that demand for either of these items in America is so low that it's not worth McDonalds offering them. Do you guys just not eat salad ever?!

  • Caveat should be "in those markets". In my market they do have salads. And there are veggie burgers apparently in India where they don't even serve beef (I want to try their Maharaja Chicken!) and several other countries too. My guess is veggie burgers cost a lot of money to make if they are any good, and Houston is not where you expect people to order them..
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org].

  • They lose either way... (Score:3)

    by Junta ( 36770 ) on Friday June 28, 2024 @08:11AM (#64584853)

    BK got blasted for using the same cooktop to cook the plant based burgers and so people cried taht they are forced to eat animal even if they order the plant based option. They demanded that the chain have separate dedicated prep for plant based burgers or they wouldn't order them.

    Also, the fact that there doesn't seem to be a *huge* audience for people that want plant pretending to be meat. A lot of the people going for vegetables and fruit wanted, well, vegetables and fruit, not some attempt to imitate something it is not.

    If it had been cheaper *and* actually taste the same as beef, then maybe you would have a market of people to spend less on a burger. But generally neither of those were achieved and the products were marketed on "you are a better person if you don't eat meat", which isn't going to win over people who have lived their lives eating meat.

  • Burger King introduced fake meat burgers with a big "look at us" marketing campaign.

    Then they quietly pushed it down in visibility. Now it's just an option that they barely advertise at all.

    Because burgers with fake meat are a stupid idea. A burger is all plant-based except for the meat. People who crave a burger want exactly that combo. The combination of tastes and textures makes it tasty.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by MobyDisk ( 75490 )

      Burger King introduced fake meat burgers with a big "look at us" marketing campaign.
      Then they quietly pushed it down in visibility. Now it's just an option that they barely advertise at all.

      Just like every other product they sell.

  • "If people really want salads from McDonald's, we will gladly relaunch salads," Erlinger said. "But what our experience has proven is that's not what the consumer is looking for from McDonald's.

    Here, in France, we have the salad option in menus at McDonald's as an alternative to fries.
    https://www.mcdonalds.fr/nos-p... [mcdonalds.fr]

    And one can even get a standalone salad.
    https://www.mcdonalds.fr/nos-p... [mcdonalds.fr]

  • I think they can consider this for specific markets - for example I think McDonalds had at least one or maybe two types of veg burgers in India, when I was there last. Nothing with beef or pork. It's been a few years, but I doubt it's changed.

    Presumably a plant based burger may work well over there. And in other similar markets with alot of vegetarians around.

  • It was okay -- but it wasn't any more healthy than eating beef, and not as satisfying, so this doesn't surprise me at all.

    • I don't call fresh, a 3+ week old FROZEN burger made up of 100 cows from multiple countries with it's own FDA beef grade lobbied by McDonalds because it was unfit for human consumption! (really! they just cook it more to make unfit become safe!)

      These are the people who were into pink slime and probably went back to that. Furthermore, I don't classify cow shit as 100% beef even if it came out of a cow while being butchered too quickly. This is why they made a new grade of beef to allow you to literally eat

      • Buddy, if you feel that way, then I suggest you abandon whatever life you have now, go live off the grid on a farm, and only ever eat foods you grow and harvest/slaughter yourself, because by your standards, nothing you get anywhere qualifies as 'fresh'.

  • Background: Been pescatarian for decades.

    In Oregon there's a franchise called Burgerville. They used to offer a veggie-burger based on the Gardenburger. Recently they switched to an all-vegan sandwich, with some kind of vegan sauce and vegan cheese. It is nasty. I've tried it a couple times and gave up. No wonder vegans look like plague victims.

    I'm not a fan of the beyond burger. It seems like they're trying too hard to make it seem like beef and ends up not making it much of anything. Beyond is in-

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