McDonald’s says plant-based test in two key U.S. cities failed

A McDonald’s Corp. test of its plant-based burger in San Francisco and Dallas “was not successful in either market,” Joe Erlinger, the chain’s US chief, said Wednesday.

US consumers aren’t looking for “McPlant or other plant-based proteins from McDonald’s,” Erlinger said at the Wall Street Journal‘s Global Food Forum in Chicago.

Shares of Beyond Meat Inc., which partnered with McDonald’s to produce the McPlant burger, fell as much as 5.1% on Wednesday after the comments.

Instead, McDonald’s is making investments in products with chicken as consumers lean toward that protein. The company sells more chicken than beef these days, he added.

“Some of it’s driven by affordability,” he said. “Chicken is less expensive to produce, and so for a consumer that’s looking for more affordable food, chicken is a great option right now.”