Beyond Meat stock rises as McDonald’s plans to test McPlant burger and Sam’s Club offering breakfast sausage value packs
Beyond Meat is on the rise.
All eyes are on the fast-growing plant-based manufacturer business as the world’s largest fast food chain announced plans to roll out the first offering created from their new partnership.
On Thursday, McDonald’s said it will begin a “small-scale test” for the plant based McPlant burger in eight U.S. restaurants next month.
Made with an exclusive plant-based Beyond Meat patty (from plant-based ingredients like peas, rice and potatoes), the McPlant will be served on a sesame seed bun with tomato, lettuce, pickles, onions, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and a slice of American cheese.
“The McPlant was created to give customers more delicious options in addition to the McDonald’s burger lineup you know and love, with fan favorites like the Big Mac and Quarter Pounder sandwich still available nationwide,” the company announced.
The limited trial, which starts Nov. 3 in states including Texas, Louisiana, Iowa and California, is the latest step in the burger giant’s long overdue effort to add plant-based meat to its menu.
The McPlant has already been introduced in various markets overseas this year, including Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and most recently the U.K.
“Just like in the U.S., we often conduct limited time offers with menu items internationally to help us learn,” McDonald’s said.
With the Mickey Dees announcement, Beyond Meat traded higher. According to Barron’s, Beyond Meat stock rose more than 4% soon after markets opened.
Founded in 2009 and headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., Beyond Meat has cornered the guilt-free, plant-based food market with an innovation of products such as crumbles, meatballs, burgers and sausages that have the similar tastes and textures of beef and chicken.
With no GMOs, soy, gluten or synthetic ingredients, the meatless products are made of peas, mung bean, rice, beets, coconut oil and cocoa butter.
On Oct. 1, the company rolled out its first-ever breakfast product in club stores with the debut of Beyond Breakfast Sausage Patties at all Sam’s Club stores nationwide.
Priced at $13.48, the 22-pack of the classic flavored plant-based breakfast sausages cook from frozen to finished in under five minutes with no cholesterol, antibiotics or hormones and are also certified Kosher and Halal.
Beyond Meat first launched the Beyond Burger at wholesale retailers in 2019 and has since expanded availability across all of the warehouse club stores, Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale.
Last month, the company launched its breakfast sausage links in grocery stores across Canada.
