New York (CNN Business)McDonald’s will begin testing a Beyond Meat burger, giving the plant-based meat craze a major endorsement.
The P.L.T. (plant, lettuce, tomato) burger will go on sale in 28 McDonald’s locations in Southwestern Ontario, including Canada’s largest city, Toronto, for a limited time. The 12-week test will begin Monday.
Beyond Meat’s (BYND) stock shot up 11.5% on Thursday. Some food industry insiders had speculated that McDonald’s could partner with Nestle to bring a vegan burger to market in North America.
Nestle made McDonald’s vegan burger, the Big Vegan TS, in Germany, one of McDonald’s top 5 international markets.
McDonald’s (MCD) said it is testing the P.L.T. because of customers’ growing interest in plant-based alternatives. The company said it’s still in “learning mode,” so it will review the test’s results before adding the Beyond Meat burger elsewhere.
The plant-based protein trend is growing rapidly as people try to eat less meat and to reduce their environmental footprints. Unlike veggie burgers, which long had a mediocre reputation, the new plant-based proteins are designed to look and taste like meat and appeal to meat eaters as well as vegans and vegetarians.
McDonald’s has been slower than its competitors in embracing the meatless trend. Burger King sells Impossible Whoppers to all of its US locations and Tim Horton’s sells variations of Beyond Meat-based sandwiches in select Canadian markets. White Castle, Qdoba, Bareburger and others, are selling plant-based menu items as well.
So far, McDonald’s plant-based burger sales have been limited. Two years ago, the company announced it would sell a McVegan burger, made with a soy patty, in Finland and Sweden. McDonald’s partnered with a specialty Norwegian food company called Orkla on that earlier product. The chain also offers veggie burgers on some menus, depending on local demand.
For McDonald’s, the decision isn’t as easy because it has struggled with a complex menu that has angered franchises and slowed down service. CEO Steve Easterbrook previously said that the company has to weigh whether adding plant-based menu options is “worth it.”
The P.L.T. will be served on a toasted bun with the usual array of toppings, including lettuce, onions and tomatoes. McDonald’s will charge $6.49 Canadian ($5 US). Cheese is also optional.
Beyond Meat’s stock surged nearly 600% after it went public in June, but it has faded in recent weeks over fears it was overvalued. Still, shares are up more than 400% since its opening price of $25 per share.
麥當勞將測試純素漢堡針對現在熱愛純素的消費者是一個很大的福音。
在家大主要的一級城市，西南方的安大略省將在28家門市開賣這個純素漢堡。
在週四的時候，超越肉類公司的股票飆升到11.5%。業界人士都推測麥當勞將會和雀巢合夥推出新的素食漢堡到北美洲的市場。
麥當勞在德國的市場全世界前五大市場，雀巢已經在當地試賣了純素漢堡 。
因為目前大眾市場對素食主義的選擇在慢慢增加，所以測試純素的漢堡但是公司說一切都還是在學習模式所以在他們衡量過結果前不會把漢堡推出到其他市場。
減少對於環境的二氧化碳排放及試著少吃一點肉只吃植物性蛋白的人正在急速增加。不像是大家長久以來覺得無感的素食漢堡，針對愛吃肉的和素食主義者，全新的植物性蛋白所製成純素漢堡的口感和起來的感覺完全就是像肉一樣。
事實上麥當勞比其他速食餐廳業者例如漢堡王已經在美國的全國分店販售無肉華堡還要慢進入這個無肉的市場，還有蒂姆霍頓斯Tim Hortons也在加拿大的部分市場販售這樣子無肉的三名治。也有像是白色城堡White Castle和Qdoba墨西哥燒烤餐廳參加這場無肉市場潮流的。
麥當勞目前為止在植物性漢堡的銷售一直有限，一家挪威的當地公司奧卡拉Orkla和麥當勞一起合作這個初期的產品，前兩年才宣布在芬蘭和瑞典會販售使用黃豆製成的素食漢堡。根據當地的需求分店也同時提供素食漢堡的選項。
這樣的決定對麥當勞來說並不容易尤其是在這麼複雜的菜單裡面，這樣的改變引起了其他經銷商的不滿同時也使服務變慢。CEO Steve Easterbrook 先前提到公司必須去衡量加入這樣的植物性漢寶的選項是不是值得的。
無肉漢堡將會提供烘烤的麵包加上不同的醬料和生菜比如說生菜洋蔥和番茄。還有起士可以提供選擇，這樣的售價會是加幣6.49(美金5元)
超越肉的市場飆升至600%在開始販售這些肉品之後，可是由於大眾對他的價值可能過高所以在這幾周有慢慢趨緩下來。然而股票還是超越原本一開始只有每股25美金的百分之四百。
— CNN Business’ Danielle Weiner-Bronner contributed to this report.
