McDonald's is testing its Beyond Meat burger at more locations

Reuters

A McDonald's "PLT" burger with a Beyond Meat plant-based patty.

• McDonald's is bringing its plant-based burger, made in partnership with Beyond Meat, to more locations in Canada.
• The so-called PLT sandwich, which includes the Beyond Meat plant-based patty alongside lettuce and tomato, will be rolled out to 52 restaurants across Southwestern Ontario from January 14 for 12 weeks.
• Fast food partnerships are a major part of Beyond Meat's growth plan. The company has also created unique menu items for different chains such as Del Taco and KFC.
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McDonald's is bringing its plant-based burger, made in partnership with Beyond Meat, to more locations.

The fast-food chain announced early Wednesday that its "PLT" burger, a plant, lettuce, and tomato sandwich that contains a Beyond Meat plant-based patty, will be available to purchase in 52 locations in Ontario, Canada from January 14 for 12 weeks.

The sandwich was previously available at 28 locations in the Ontario area.

"The initial test of the P.L.T. allowed us to learn more about guest demand and how to integrate this new menu item into restaurant kitchen operations, while delivering the P.L.T. to our guests with the level of quality and craveability they know and love from McDonald's," Jeff Anderson, a culinary innovation manager at McDonald's Canada, said in a statement to the press.

He continued: "As a test and learn company, the McDonald's expansion of the P.L.T. into more restaurants in the Southwestern Ontario region will help us learn more about our guests' tastes while continuing to provide variety within our menu."

Fast-food partnerships are a major part of Beyond Meat's growth plan, Beyond Meat's chief growth officer, Chuck Muth, told Business Insider in November. The company has created unique menu items for different chains, from Del Taco's plant-based taco to a test of Beyond Fried Chicken at KFC.

"These large QSRs want something that is unique and special that also reflects their culinary direction," Muth said.

"That's where our capabilities come in," Muth added. "We have the capabilities here of customizing items that work. And that's part of the entrepreneur scrappiness. It's not a one-size-fits-all."

The news of McDonalds' expansion of its Beyond Meat burger comes one day after Reuters reported that its main competitor, Impossible Foods, had given up trying to win a deal to supply McDonald's with plant-based burgers.

Impossible Foods CEO Pat Brown reportedly told Reuters that "it would be stupid for us to be vying for them right now... Having more big customers right now doesn't do us any good until we scale up production."

A spokesperson for Impossible Foods later responded to the Reuters report and said that the CEO's comments had been misinterpreted.

"Our ambition is to be everywhere," Rachel Konrad, a spokesperson for the company told Bloomberg on Tuesday. "We would never close the door, never abandon a relationship."

Business Insider reached out to Impossible Foods for comment but did not immediately hear back.

• Read more:
• Inside Beyond Meat's mission to take over fast food, from KFC's fried chicken to McDonald's burgers
• Beyond Meat's chief growth officer says he 'can't remember when we've ever said no' to creating a new menu item for a fast-food chain
• Inside Beyond Meat's lab, where the company transforms plants into faux meat with microscopic analysis and robot mouths
• Hooters is adding vegetarian plant-based wings to the menu as the 'breastaurant' chain attempts to win over millennials and women
• SEE ALSO: Apply here to attend IGNITION: Retail, an event focused on the future of retail, in New York City on January 14.

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