Major fast food chain bets McDonald's is wrong - launching a product its rival just dropped: 'Fans begged us'
Two recent moves show restaurant chains are still undecided about whether Americans want plant-based options.
Panda Express said last week it is reintroducing plant-based chicken - which it developed with Beyond Meat - at hundreds of US stores.
Beyond Orange Chicken will be available for a limited time, Panda Express said. it will be rolled out widely 'if consumer enthusiasm continues'.
Just last week, McDonald's said it had ditched the McPlant in the US after a trial at several hundred restaurants.
The plant-based burger was also made using fake meat from Beyond.
McPlant is made with a plant-based patty co-developed with Beyond Meat. It has now been ditched in the US
Panda Express said last week it is reintroducing plant-based chicken - which it developed with Beyond Meat - at hundreds of US stores
During an appearance at the Wall Street Journal´s Global Food Forum, McDonald's US president Joe Erlinger said the company's 2022 test of the McPlant at stores in San Francisco and Dallas was 'not successful in either market.'
'I don't think the US consumer is... looking for the McPlant or other plant-based proteins from McDonald's,' Erlinger said.
The McPlant has seen more success in Europe, where consumers are much more receptive to ordering plant-based products at a McDonald's.
The McPlant is now a permanent menu item in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and other markets, and McDonald´s introduced plant-based McNuggets - also developed with Beyond Meat - in Europe last year.
Erlinger said McDonald's will keep an eye on plant-based trends, but prefers to focus on chicken in the US right now.
Still, Panda Express - with around 2,400 locations in the US - is bullish about plant-based meat. It first tested Beyond Orange Chicken in 2021 and rolled it out nationally for a limited time in 2022.
'We´ve never received so many social media comments begging for an entree´s return,' a Panda Express spokesperson said.
The company said fans even started a petition asking the company to bring the dish back.
'If our fans continue to love and demand it, there's potential to expand availability,' the Rosemead, California-based company said.
The real meat Orange chicken, launched in 1987, is Panda Express’s most famous dish. It now makes up one-third of the chain’s business.
Beyond has seen sales fall after the excitement about its plant-based meat alternatives peaked in 2019.
Beyond Meat's sales have slumped despite high profile celebrity endorsements from the likes of Kim Kardashian
Beyond Meat has slashed prices on its core products to bring them in line with or lower than their animal protein equivalents
Last year, Beyond saw its sales slump by almost a third as consumers turn their back on pricey meat alternatives during the cost of living crisis.
The company, that was valued at a staggering $11.7 billion at its peak in 2019, is the latest victim of the pop in the vegan food bubble.
The US company, founded in 2009, now has a market value of just $452 million and its stock has plummeted almost 90 percent since it opened on the stock market in 2019.
