We’ve seen all sorts of fake meat in recent years. Now, the McPlant is set to join the likes of the Impossible and Beyond burgers, as well as whatever fake chicken KFC was fielding and then Pizza Hut’s Incogmeato. Yeah, that’s a real thing.
The McPlant, if the name and the headline haven’t given it away, is a plant-based burger from the global purveyor of *-based foods, McDonald’s. But don’t expect to see it at your local drive-thru any time soon — the burger is being tested in Sweden and Denmark for the moment.
McPlant your flag somewhere
The new McDs burger is made up of pea and rice proteins and was developed in conjunction with those fine folks from Beyond Meat. The Beyond Burger, available in South Africa, is actually a pretty decent substitute for red meat (but it’s expensive as balls). We’d expect the McDonalds version to taste more or less the same as the fast-food maker’s regular burgers, then.
They’re not wholly vegetarian, however. The McPlant is cooked on the same grill as its regular patties — the company is targeting flexitarians: those folks who try really hard not to eat meat but who cave in to consuming the flesh of the slain from time to time.
If you’re in Sweden or Denmark, then you’ve got until 15 March (Sweden) or 12 April (Denmark) this year to track it down and try it out. The company started the trial in January this year but there’s no indication whether the McPlant will be sticking around or (heh) branching out after this. It’s possible, based on consumer interest, that Mickey D’s will soon start selling a different kind of fake-meat burger.
Source: Bloomberg
Header image: McDonald’s