The vegan and vegetarian food business is not for everyone. Or at least that’s the fast food chain’s mess McDonald’s has confirmed that its plant-based burger, called the McPlant, has been a flop in the United States.
As detailed Joe Erlinger, US Series Director, McPlant Burger Testing in San Francisco and Dallas “It wasn’t successful in any of the markets.”
In turn, the executive confirmed Consumers do not choose multinational fast food companies To purchase this type of product. “Americans are not looking for McPlant protein or other plant-based proteins from McDonald’s,” he explained at the World Food Forum organized by the Wall Street Journal in Chicago.
In this context, In Argentina, the company doesn’t sell veggie burgers either. As an option for vegetarians, it offers salads. The fact is that the company was unable to reach consumers with this type of product. Its partnership with the giant company Beyond Meat did not materialize either, as in 2020 it officially launched McPlant with little success.
the signature It was left behind in this niche market where Burger King had already launched a vegetarian version From the famous Whopper burger in April 2019 in the United States.
In this context, the CEO of McDonald’s explained that instead of vegetarian options, The company invests in chicken products, Because consumers tend towards this protein. One revealing fact is that the company these days Chicken sells more than beef.
“Part of this is affordability,” he explained. “Chicken is less expensive to produce, so for the consumer looking for affordable food, chicken is a great option right now.”
Another setback
Fast food giant McDonald’s It also recently lost a legal battle against an Irish restaurant chain after an EU court ruled that it could not call its chicken burger a Big Mac.
The legal dispute began in 2017, when Irish chain Supermac attempted to revoke McDonald’s “Big Mac” trademark in the European Union. At the time, the EU Intellectual Property Office initially allowed Supermac’s application, but then, on appeal, reasserted trademark protection for McDonald’s “Big Mac” burger.
Supermac argued that McDonald’s was using its brand dominance to unfairly block the expansion of smaller rivals.
The truth is The court ruling could open up new opportunities for other competitors in the European market, allowing them to use similar names for their own products.
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