These healthier McDonald’s items are getting the chop

‘I don’t think the US consumer is coming to McDonald’s looking for the McPlant or other plant-based proteins’

McDonald's is axing some of its healthier menu options due to low customer demand.

The McPlant burger - the company’s plant-based patty - along with all of the company’s salad items, will be disappearing from the menu. The date for their removal has not been announced,The Street reports.

“I don’t think the U.S. consumer is coming to McDonald’s looking for the McPlant or other plant-based proteins,” McDonald’s US president, Joe Erlinger, said at the Wall Street Journal Global Food Forum last week.

The changes come as chains are rethinking menu options due to decreasing demand for fast food as customers contend with rising prices caused by inflation.

A McPlant, McDonald’s plant-based meat burger. McDonald’s will no longer offer the McPlant following an upcoming menu change (McDonald’s)

Almost 80 percent of Americans now consider fast food a luxury good due to the high prices caused by inflation, according to a recent survey.

McDonald’s has responded by announcing a new $5 value meal that launched last month. The new value option includes a McChicken or a McDouble sandwich along with fries and a drink.

The fast-food chain began offering salads to US customers in 1987 and over the years, the company has experimented with options including the McSalad Shaker, from 2000 to 2003 which was salad sold in a plastic cup.

A McDonald’s Bacon Ranch Salad with Crispy Chicken. McDonald’s will no longer offer salads after an upcoming menu change (McDonald’s)

McDonald's have previously culled salads from their menu in 2019 to simplify operations with only some franchises reintroducing the healthier items.

The McPlant was a collaboration between McDonald's and Beyond Meat, and added to the menu in 2021 in limited restaurants to test its viability. The burger was never made a nationwide menu item.

Plant-based meat isn't just failing to generate customer interest at McDonald's. According to market research firm Mintel, the market for plant-based meats declined by 3.6 percent in 2023 year-over-year in the US.