What just happened? McDonald's is preparing to market test the Beyond Meat burger in more than two dozen restaurants in Canada. Presumably, if the burger receives positive feedback, it'll be considered for other markets including in the US.
McDonald's has its answer to Burger King's Impossible Whopper. It's called the Plant Lettuce Tomato, or P.L.T. for short, and it'll be making its debut in 28 McDonald's restaurants in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, from September 30.
The new P.L.T. is made with a plant-based Beyond Meat patty made specifically for McDonald's with no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. It's more or less a cheeseburger with the usual fixings (lettuce, tomato, onion and condiments like ketchup and mustard). According to McDonald's nutritional summary, a standard P.L.T. contains 460 calories, 25g of fat, 42g of carbohydrates, 17g of protein and 920mg of sodium.
It will be market tested during a 12-week period at $6.49 CAD plus tax. Burger King performed a similar market test before rolling the Impossible Whopper out nationwide.
Ann Wahlgren, McDonald's VP of global menu strategy, said the test will help them learn more about real-world implications of serving the P.L.T. including customer demand and impact on restaurant operations.
The Beyond Burger is also available at select Carl's Jr. restaurants in the US for those itching to try it out.