McDonald’s expands test of McPlant burger created with Beyond Meat

The McPlant burger is from McDonald's.

The plant-based McPlant burger is being expanded by McDonald's as part of its partnership with Beyond Meat.

The burger will be available at roughly 600 locations in the San Francisco Bay and Dallas-Fort Worth areas. The test began with just eight restaurants so the chain could understand the impact on its operations.

McDonald's has taken a cautious approach to the plant-based meat trend. Even as other fast-food chains raced to add the trendy item to their menu, the company took its time to learn more about the longevity of meat substitute and consumer demand. Burger King added theImpossible Whopper to its menu more than two years ago.

The patty for the McPlant burger is made from peas, rice and potatoes. mayonnaise and American cheese are included. The burger will be available for a limited time in the two test markets.

Beyond Meat has an opportunity to impress consumers with its meat substitute, although it is just a small fraction of McDonald's restaurants. The company is struggling with competition and falling U.S. grocery sales, according to Wall Street analysts.

Doug Ramsey was hired as Beyond's chief operating officer in December to prepare for a larger launch of McDonald's and other fast-food menu items this year. Ramsey was in charge of the company's supply relationship with Mcdonald's.

The partnership between McDonald's and Beyond was announced in February. McDonald's tested a Beyond patty in several dozen Canadian restaurants before the official announcement of the McPlant line. The P.L.T. burger was discontinued by the chain by the following April.

Beyond shares were up 2% in premarket trading. The market value of the stock has fallen by more than half in the last year.

McDonald's stock was up less than 1% before the market opened. The burger chain has a market value of $197 billion.