McDonald’s Comes For Burger King, Popeyes With New Menu Items

McDonald’s (MCD) is getting ready to take on the competition with the McPlant – a meatless burger that will rival Burger King’s Impossible Whopper.

McDonald’s announced the new plant-based burger offering as it released its Q3 earnings report on Monday.

“McPlant is crafted exclusively for McDonald’s, by McDonald’s,” Ian Borden, McDonald's international president, said during the earnings call as reported by USA Today. “In the future, McPlant could extend across a line of plant-based products including burgers, chicken-substitutes, and breakfast sandwiches.”

The fast-food chain trails other restaurants that have already stepped into the plant-based meat business. Burger King added its Impossible Whopper in 2019 in partnership with Impossible Foods, and Carl’s Jr. announced the Beyond Famous Star burgers in December 2018. Del Taco and Chipotle also added plant-based menu options last year.

However, this is not the first foray for McDonald’s into meatless menu items. The restaurant offers plant-based foods in other countries and tested a P.L.T. (plant, lettuce, and tomato) sandwich in a tie-in with Beyond Meat in September 2019, USA Today said.

The fast-food giant said the McPlant was developed after a great deal of testing, which it believes helped to get it right. In a blog post, the company said, “There are other plant-based burgers out there, but the McPlant delivers our iconic taste in a sink-your-teeth-in (and wipe-your-mouth) kind of sandwich. It’s made with a juicy, plant-based patty and served on a warm, sesame seed bun with all the classic toppings.”

The McPlant is expected to roll out in test markets next year.

And look Popeyes! In addition, McDonald’s is adding fuel to the chicken sandwich battle with a new Crispy Chicken Sandwich that it said will arrive in the U.S. early in 2021. The sandwich features chicken, a potato roll, crinkle-cut pickles, and butter, which McDonald's USA President Joe Erlinger said is “extremely crave-able.”

The new menu offerings by McDonald’s is part of its “Accelerating the Arches” strategy that looks to focus on its core food options.

McDonald’s reported a global comparable sales decline of 2.2% for the quarter with a consolidated revenue decrease of 2%. Systemwide sales were flat with the prior year while operating income increased by 5%.

Shares of McDonald's were trading at $214.99 as of 1:13 p.m. EST on Monday, down $1.57 or 0.73%.