McDonald's to debut plant-based burgers in 2021

Burger chain giant McDonald's Corp will debut a line of plant-based meat alternatives dubbed "McPlant" next year to cope with the ongoing consumer trend.

The McPlant line would include burgers, chicken substitutes, and breakfast sandwiches.

According to its CEO Chris Kempczinski, it’s not a matter of if McDonald’s will offer plant-based products, it’s a matter of when.

The restaurant industry has been awaiting McDonald’s announcement on including plant-based meat burgers on its menu permanently, as it is one of the huge fast food chains yet to.

Those that have started offering plant-based meat options include Burger King, White Castle, and Dunkin'.

The McDonald's contract could be the biggest that would catapult plant-based meat consumption at the top of consumers' list of favorites.

McDonald’s, which reported market-beating profit and revenue for the third quarter, declined to identify the supplier of its veggie meat line.

However, Beyond Meat announced that it co-created the plant-based patty with McDonald's.

Shares of Beyond Meat dropped as much as 8 percent soon after revealing its role in creating the McPlant patty but recovered to end 4 percent lower.

Beyond Meat was the front runner in bagging the McDonald's contract as it had conducted tests of its Plant, Lettuce and Tomato burgers at nearly 100 McDonald’s locations in Ontario.