BYND Beyond Meat Inc

By Heather Haddon 

McDonald's Corp. is getting on the plant-based bandwagon.

The world's biggest fast-food company by revenue said Thursday it is testing Beyond Meat Inc. patties at restaurants in Canada for 12 weeks. Dubbed the "P.L.T." for plant, lettuce and tomato, the sandwich will be on sale at 28 restaurants in southwestern Ontario starting Monday.

Many of McDonald's rivals have already introduced meat substitutes made by Beyond Meat or rival Impossible Foods Inc. Sales of plant-based burgers and other meats from those companies have surged this year.

A few months ago, McDonald's executives said they were watching whether the trend would last and those companies could maintain supply before adding meatless products to its menu.

The small 12-week test in Canada will allow McDonald's to better understand customer demand and impact on restaurant operations, said Ann Wahlgren, McDonald's vice president of Global Menu Strategy. Beyond Meat honed a patty recipe specifically for the chain, McDonald's said.

Beyond Meat's shares surged 16% in premarket trading to $160. The stock is up six times its public debut of $25 a share in May. McDonald's shares were unchanged at $213.

Tim Hortons, the coffee-and-doughnut chain owned by Restaurant Brands Inc., introduced Beyond Meat sausage breakfast patties and burgers in Canada this summer. The chain cut back the plant-based burger offering earlier this month, saying demand was better for real beef. Beyond Meat patties are still for sale in Ontario, where McDonald's is testing its own meatless products.

McDonald's has served vegetarian offerings for some time in other markets, such as the McAloo Tikki, made of potatoes and peas, in India. It tested a vegetarian burger made by Nestlé SA earlier this year in Germany.

In Canada, McDonald's P.L.T. will be priced at 6.49 Canadian dollars (US$4.90), McDonald's said. That is slightly more expensive than Tim Hortons retail price of C$5.69 (US$4.36).

--Colin Kellaher contributed to this article.

Write to Heather Haddon at heather.haddon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 26, 2019 09:23 ET (13:23 GMT)

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