The American burger giant McDonald's has started selling meatless burgers in Sweden and Denmark. Under the name McPlant, burgers made from vegetable meat are now being baked as a test.
According to the company, trial sales of McPlant Burger started in several of the chain's restaurants in January. In Sweden, the trial will last until March 15, in Denmark until April 12. When there is sufficient demand, Beyond Meat burgers are also on the menu elsewhere in Scandinavia.
It is striking that McDonald's does not deny that it cooperates with the supplier Beyond Meat, which is already working with the Burger King chain. This means that the competition in the segment is significant.
McDonald's has had plant-based options on the menu since 1997, and in 2017 McDonald's Sweden was the first in the world to offer a completely vegan burger - McVegan. With the launch of McPlant, a burger made from 100 percent vegetable meat, McDonald's is further expanding its vegan offering.
A previous study found that just over a third of Scandinavians classify as flexitarians. The publication adds that Dutch food giant Unilever started selling vegan Magnum ice cream in Sweden and Finland in 2018.
The alternative cutlets and burgers at McDonald's in Sweden and Denmark are baked on the same grill as their beef products. This could be a problem for vegan diets, Bloomberg news agency reported.
Brands International Inc., owned by Burger King, had similar problems in 2019 when it started grilling vegetable cutlets on baking trays using regular meat.