Do Americans want at fast-food restaurants? Two recent moves show restaurant chains are still undecided.
On Wednesday, said it is reintroducing plant-based chicken 鈥� which it developed with El Segundo, California-based 鈥� at hundreds of U.S. stores. Beyond Orange Chicken will be available for a limited time, Panda Express said.
But last week, 惭肠顿辞苍补濒诲鈥檚 revealed it has pulled the plug in the U.S. on the McPlant, the plant-based it co-developed with Beyond Meat. During an appearance at the Wall Street Journal鈥檚 Global Food Forum, 惭肠顿辞苍补濒诲鈥檚 U.S. President Joe Erlinger said the of the McPlant at stores in San Francisco and Dallas was 鈥渘ot successful in either market.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the U.S. consumer is鈥� looking for the McPlant or other plant-based proteins from 惭肠顿辞苍补濒诲鈥檚,鈥� Erlinger said.
The McPlant has seen , where consumers are much more receptive to ordering plant-based products at a . The McPlant is now a permanent menu item in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and other markets, and 惭肠顿辞苍补濒诲鈥檚 introduced plant-based McNuggets 鈥� also developed with Beyond Meat 鈥� in Europe last year.
Erlinger said 惭肠顿辞苍补濒诲鈥檚 will keep an eye on plant-based trends, but prefers to focus on chicken in the U.S. right now.
Still, Panda Express is bullish about plant-based meat. It first tested Beyond Orange Chicken in 2021 and rolled it out nationally for a limited time in 2022.
鈥淲e鈥檝e never received so many social media comments begging for an entree鈥檚 return,鈥� a Panda Express spokesperson said. The company said fans even started a petition asking the company to bring the dish back.
鈥淚f our fans continue to love and demand it, there鈥檚 potential to expand availability,鈥� the Rosemead, California-based company said.
Dee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press
