Mon Dieu! McDonald's puts Beyond Meat's plant-based McNuggets on French menu

McDonald’s is putting Beyond Meat’s plant-based chicken McNuggets on its French menu, marking an expansion of the El Segundo company’s European business.

The Veggie McPlant Nuggets, made from wheat and pea proteins, will be served at all of McDonald’s 1,560 restaurants in France on a permanent basis, the fast-food company said this week.

“With a constant increase in the number of French people adopting a vegetarian or flexitarian diet, McDonald’s is responding to changing eating habits,” McDonald’s said in a news release.

Last year, the chain launched its McPlant Nuggets and McPlant Burger, also supplied by Beyond Meat, in Germany, where they are now permanent menu items. The McPlant Burger is also on the menu to stay in the U.K., the Netherlands, Austria, the Baltics, Malta and Slovenia, Beyond Meat said.

“We are … proud to help bring more choice to the McDonald’s menu for consumers looking to diversify their proteins with plant-based options,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

A bellwether stock in the plant-based meat industry, Beyond Meat has been struggling as the novelty of the products has worn off and questions have risen about their healthfulness — something the company blames on a lobbying campaign led by the meat industry.

Beyond Meat’s sales have fallen since 2021 as their losses have grown. That has depleted its cash reserves, which along with short-term investments totaled $145 million at the end of the second quarter — after topping $1 billion in 2021, according to FactSet. Its stock is down more than 90% over that period, with shares trading around $6.50 Thursday on the Nasdaq.

John Baumgartner, an analyst at Mizuho Securities, said that the announcement adds to progress Beyond Meat has already made in Europe, but that the larger issue is its struggles making headway in the domestic fast-food industry.

“They haven’t been able to make it work in the U.S.,” he said, noting Beyond’s plant-based products have been discontinued at Dunkin’ Donuts and other North American chains.

McDonald’s tested the McPlant Burger at stores in the San Francisco and Dallas areas, but they did not perform well, and the company did not pursue a nationwide rollout, a McDonald’s executive said this year. However, McDonald’s plans to focus on plant-based chicken products where there is more demand, he added.

Last week, Beyond Meat announced that Panda Express was expanding the number of outlets serving a plant-based version of the company’s orange chicken to 600 stores across the country.

Beyond Meat this spring rolled out a new version of its burger, with a lower fat content that garnered endorsements from leading health and nutrition groups — a key strategy in turning around its business. It will release third-quarter earnings next month that will provide insight into how well the burger is selling.

It also has released a new product line called Beyond Sun Sausage that unlike the company’s core products does not seek to mimic and replace meat. The sausages are made of fruits, legumes and vegetables and are certified by the American Heart Assn. and the American Diabetes Assn.

Baumgartner said the new sausages appears to be a “hedge product” that appeals to traditional vegetarian and vegan consumers. He called the company’s turnaround efforts a “work in progress” that has improved the product line but has yet to show results.

“You’re still not seeing it in sales, and their cash position doesn’t give them a lot of wiggle room,” he said.