Where's The Beef? McDonald's To Test New Beyond Meat Burger In Canada

McDonald’s (MCD) said Thursday it would begin testing a Beyond Meat (BYND) plant-based burger at 28 of its restaurants in Ontario, Canada, starting Sept. 30 for 12 weeks.

The burger will be marketed as the P.L.T., or plant, lettuce, and tomato, and sell for $6.49 (Canadian dollars).

“This test allows us to learn more about real-world implications of serving the P.L.T., including customer demand and impact on restaurant operations,” Ann Wahlgren, McDonald’s vice president of global menu strategy, said in a statement.

The news provided a welcome boon to Beyond Meat’s stock, which was trading 10% higher Thursday. It also makes McDonald’s the latest chain to join the meat substitute craze that has exploded in the last year. Burger King recently released its Impossible Whopper nationwide while KFC, Dunkin’ and Red Robin have adopted Beyond Meat products across their menus.

“Overall, we continue to believe the best way to play on the demand for plant-based foods is through Restaurant Brands,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Peter Sklar said in a note Wednesday, CNBC reported.

However, this won’t be the first plant-based burger McDonald’s has offered. It previously teamed with Nestle to bring the Awesome Burger to restaurants across Germany and Israel.

No plans have been announced by McDonald’s to bring a similar product to its U.S. locations.