Do US fast-food customers want plant-based meat? Panda Express thinks so, but McDonald’s has doubts

AP Business Writer

Do Americans want plant-based options at fast-food restaurants? Two recent moves show restaurant chains are still undecided. On Wednesday, Panda Express reintroduced plant-based chicken, which it developed with El Segundo, California-based Beyond Meat. Beyond Orange Chicken will be available at hundreds of U.S. stores for a limited time. Panda Express says it’s responding to huge demand for the dish, which it first offered in 2022. But last week, McDonald’s revealed it has pulled the plug in the U.S. on the McPlant, a plant-based burger it developed with Beyond Meat. McDonald’s U.S. president says McPlant tests in San Francisco and Dallas in 2022 were unsuccessful, and U.S. consumers don’t seem to want plant-based meat from McDonald’s.