McDonald's is killing off a menu item leaving fans torn

McDonald's has given up on its bid to sell meat-free beef burger in America. US president Joe Erlinger has said the McPlant has been ditched because customers did not want fake meat.

The chain had been testing the McPlant at several hundred restaurants in California and Texas since trials began in late 2021. Developed with Beyond Meat, it was made from pea and rice proteins. While it has flopped in the US, it has been a hit in the UK, Germany , Holland and Portugal. But there is little chance of a return to America.

McDonald's is now shifting its focus to chicken, which has become more popular among its customers than beef, partly due to its lower cost. Salads, which were taken off US menus at the start of the pandemic, will also not return, Erlinger said.

Those that want salads are going to dedicated sala chains like Chopt, Sweetgreen and Cava. 'If people really want salads from McDonald's, we will gladly relaunch salads,' Erlinger said at the Global Food Forum, according to Bloomberg. 'But what our experience has proven is that's not what the consumer's looking for.' It is the second bit of major menu news in a week - the other being about the return of an item with a cult following.

The McRib - seasoned boneless pork dipped in tangy BBQ sauce and topped with chopped onions and pickles - is returning to America later this year. The sandwich, which has been dropped and then added back to the menu dozens of times over the years, polarizes fast food fans- some love it but others hate it. McDonald's knows the McRib brings customers into restaurants and drive-thrus.

It's return will be its latest weapon, along with its $5 value meal deal this summer , in the battle to win customers back in 2024. 'Bringing the McRib back for a limited time will spur some interest and foot traffic for McDonald's at a time when performance is flagging,' retail expert Neil Saunders, managing director of Global Data, told DailyMail.com. But he explained why McDonald's only sells it for limited times - rather than having it as a permanent fixture on the menu.

'The uplift is usually only temporary, so the chain still has work to do on areas like pricing if it wants to secure a better performance,' he added. McRib - which has been described as the 'fast food sandwich that went viral before viral was a thing' - debuted nationally in the US in 1982. 

It was discontinued in 1985 after low sales, but then returned in 1989 and was broadly available in the US and other countries until 2005. It was then periodically reintroduced until disappearing again in 2012 for eight years. It didn't return until December 2020 , when it came back for a limited time.

At the time, it was a bid to lure back customers after the pandemic left its dining rooms sparsely populated or closed. Another item also returned earlier this year. In April, we reported how McDonald's has brought back bagels to its breakfast menu.

Bagels are not yet nationwide but they are in at least 1,200 restaurants - and could return to all 14,300 US outlets later this year. Bagels were first introduced to McDonald's in late 2019 but were cut soon after when bosses simplified the menu in spring 2020 during the pandemic.

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