McDonald's started using plant-based meats

2022: McDonald's ditches Beyond Meat faux meat burgers

McDonald's has ditched Beyond Meat faux meat burgers. Beyond Meat declined 3.11% on July 28, 2022, and is down 51.7% year to date.

2021: The start of sales of vegetable meat burgers

In early March 2021, plant-based meat maker Beyond Meat signed multi-year supply agreements with McDonald's and Taco Bell Yum! Brands. In test mode, sales of the new Beyond Meat McPlant burger began in European markets, in particular in Sweden and Denmark.

Artificial meat has gained plenty of buyers in recent years, and now companies such as Beyond Meat and rival Impossible Foods are among the leading players competing aggressively for the right to deal with large food chains.

Beyond Meat said it would become McDonald's main supplier of plant-based meat to McPlant's new burgers through a three-year contract. Beyond Meat's original formulation makes burger patties from pea protein and other ingredients. McPlant's burger also includes cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, onions and sauces. The companies also intend to develop other menu items with products such as chicken meat, pork and plant-based eggs. In addition, Beyond Meat said it will create a "plant-based" menu for KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

Given that both McDonald's and Yum! typically working with multiple suppliers, it is likely that Impossible Foods and other competitors still have a chance to work with these fast food chains.

It is known that the COVID-19 pandemic has seriously affected the sales of meatballs and sausages with meat manufactured by Beyond Meat. Management reasonably believes that the recovery of Beyond Meat's restaurant business will lag behind the recovery of the catering sector as a whole, which is why the McDonald's deal is so important to the company.^[1]

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