McDonald's has spent a lot of time rethinking the customer dining experience. You can expect to see innovations in how you order, where you pick up your food, and even if you don't interact with an employee at all.
The introduction of the McPlant, its first big venture into meat alternatives, co-developed in a partnership with Beyond Meat, is arguably one of the biggest changes to the burger-maker's DNA in eight decades. McDonald's has been testing a plant burger at about 600 locations in the Bay Area and Dallas-Fort Worth. McDonald's expects the sandwich to be a permanent part of the brand's reimagined dining experience at a panel with Beyond Meat at Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Summit this week.
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Morgan Flatley, McDonald's global chief marketing officer, predicts that the customer experience at the restaurant will change over the next few years.
McDonald's understands the role brand equity can play in popularizing meat. Flatley says that the McPlant spent months in a unique R&D setup where McDonald's and Beyond worked side by side. Beyond Meat's founder, president, and CEO, jokes that there's a well-worn path between LAX and O'Hare thanks to all their traveling back and forth to each other.
The McPlant is a combination of strengths and Beyond brings the scientific know-how to give plant materials the taste and sensory experience of an animal.
Brown says they feel good about their product, but their biggest question recently has been how to get that taste that people are going to crave.
The first truly available at scale, across multiple markets, and at an affordable price point is what Beyond and McDonald's believe their strengths can make the McPlant.
Brown sees this as more than a simple business opportunity.
Beyond has begun to visualize how its own plant burgers could go global by working with McDonald's vast, fine-tuned network of suppliers.
McDonald's says the McPlant is most popular among flexitarians and other health-conscious eaters.
Analysts reported last month that McPlant sales were not as good as they could have been. Some stores were selling 20 per day, while others were only selling five per day in Lone Star State. Flatley says McDonald's is undeterred. She points to the U.K., where the McPlant is wildly successful after half a year on the menu. The burger is a permanent menu item in the Netherlands and Austria. A pilot test will be coming to Canada.
Flatley is confident that this product will stay in restaurants. It is going to continue to grow.
Diversification beyond the traditional all-American burger is a smart business strategy. Chicken is higher than ever, yet beef consumption is decreasing nationwide. Beyond Meat's own plant-based chicken tenders have grown into a top grocery seller, and Kentucky Fried Chicken just started trialing Beyond fried chicken.
McDonald's hints that it and Beyond are aware of this, and already discussing new collaborations. Flatley wouldn't say what they were working on, but he did say that they were working with the team on a full range of products. We want to make sure we continue to build out a line of products.
The speed at which those products are going to come to market is what we are learning today. When the consumer is ready, we will be ready.
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