Big news for vegans who miss their Big Macs. US company Beyond Meat has just unveiled a three-year partnership to produce plant-based patties for the upcoming McDonalds McPlant burger.
It also has announced plans to work with the food group Yum! which owns a range of iconic chains including KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.
This follows a deal a few weeks ago where the company launched a partnership with Pepsico to co-produce a range of vegan snacks. It also works with Starbucks and recently launched a breakfast burger in the UK’s coffee chains.
Investors haven’t so far been too impressed. The Beyond Meat share price fell on Monday and even these potentially huge announcements haven’t moved the dial in any meaningful way. The stock is currently at around $143 down from nearly $195 a month ago.
The McPlant burger is currently being trialled in Denmark and Sweden, both of which have a high percentage of nonmeat eaters, before a wider roll-out in other global markets. It is a major extension of the previous partnership it had with McDonald’s in 2019, which tested a Beyond Meat sandwich in Canada.
There are no details yet of when the burger will debut in the UK and US.
Francesca DeBiase, executive vice president and chief supply chain officer at McDonald’s, said that the new agreement is all about “giving customers more choices” and “entering into this strategic agreement is an important step on our journey to bring delicious, high quality, plant-based menu items to our customers.”
There is no timeline on the Yum deal though both companies said they were committed to creating a range of plant-based options for the Yum! Group’s restaurants.
Beyond Meat’s CEO Ethan Brown said: “We are honoured to enter into a global strategic partnership with Yum! Brands, one of the world’s largest restaurant companies. We look forward to expanding our work with the teams at Yum’s iconic KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands to together bring truly delicious plant-based
