McDonald’s has wrapped its pilot of its plant-based burger, dubbed McPlant, in the U.S., the company confirmed Thursday.
McDonald’s did not disclose any performance metrics or share whether the product would be rolled out nationwide, but said the test “concluded as planned.”
On Thursday, J.P. Morgan analysts reported that they spoke with employees at 25 McDonald’s restaurants that previously offered McPlant, and that the item is no longer on any of stores’ menus. Some employees cited low sales as the reason for the products removal, per J.P. Morgan.
Analysts speculated earlier this year that a nationwide launch of McPlant was unlikely to happen in the second half of 2022. In March, BTIG analyst Peter Saleh said that tests of the product were at or below low-end sales projections. In San Francisco, for example, sales were on the low-end projection of 125 to 300 weekly sandwich sales. Performance was lagging in other parts of the country as well, according to the report. The Dallas/Fort Worth market reported sales were 30% below low-end projections, and rural areas of East Texas saw operators selling just a few plant-based burgers per day.
McDonald’s most recent test of the product began in mid-February at roughly 600 restaurants in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Bay Area markets. This followed an initial test, which yielded around 70 sandwiches sold per day, at eight stores.
The stock of Beyond Meat, the manufacturer of McDonald’s McPlant product, dipped after J.P. Morgan published its report Thursday morning. The plant-based meat company reports second-quarter earnings next week.
