McDonald's had high hopes for its signature plant-based burger when it rolled out in California and Texas two years ago, but it turns out customers just weren't lovin' it. Joe Erlinger, the president of McDonald's USA, said during this week's Wall Street Journal Global Food Forum that the meatless burger had fizzled rather than sizzled. The McPlant, he put it bluntly, 'was not successful' in the San Francisco Bay Area or Dallas.
At the time, the fast-food giant tempted customers by suggesting they take a road trip to try the McPlant — available only 'for a limited time, while supplies last,' the company wrote in a news release. But an analysis done in March 2022 by the research firm BTIG indicated demand had withered, with consumers underwhelmed by the culinary creation. Participating restaurants in the Bay Area and Dallas-Fort Worth were selling 20 McPlants per day, less than the 40 to 60 they had expected.