McDonald’s Netherlands has added four new options to its meatless range, as the chain works to encourage customers to choose more sustainable alternatives.
The new menu items are:
- McPlant Steakhouse: A beef-style burger with chargrill sauce, temporarily available alongside the original McPlant. The burger is fully plant-based if ordered without cheese.
- Meatless McKroket: A breaded jackfruit burger that will temporarily replace the conventional meat-based McKroket. The burger is plant-based if ordered without sauce. In blind taste tests, many testers reportedly did not notice that the patty was meatless and described it as having a “signature McDonald’s taste”.
- Veggie Nuggets: A vegetarian option that will be permanently available. The nuggets contain dairy and eggs, making them unsuitable for vegans.
- Veggie Chicken Honey Mustard Salad: A salad with breaded vegetarian chicken — also not vegan due to the use of dairy and eggs.
McDonald’s Netherlands is also launching a campaign encouraging consumers to break habits and try something new (a meatless option) while positioning vegetarian options ahead of beef on menus. Additionally, the chain has announced it is altering its campaign budget to focus more on meatless items.
Meatless menu developments
While McDonald’s does now offer meatless options in many markets, the chain has been slower on the uptake than some other fast food brands. This led Burger King to launch a tongue-in-cheek ad campaign in Germany earlier this year, pointing out the relatively small size of McDonald’s plant-based range. It is also notable that none of the meatless options offered by McDonald’s Netherlands are currently fully plant-based by default, though it is encouraging that the chain is attempting to change consumer habits.
“At McDonald’s, we are constantly developing the menu,” McDonald’s Netherlands Impact Director Dolly van den Akker told Duurzaam-ondernemen.nl. “We listen to the wishes of our guests and are happy to take the lead in our sector. We do this by offering responsible choices, such as fruit and vegetables in the Happy Meal, but also by adding more variety to the menu offering. However, we know that our guests often have fixed preferences. With this campaign and new introductions, we want to challenge them to go for that unknown, meatless option. Which is really just as tasty.”
The new meatless options are now available at almost all McDonald’s restaurants across the Netherlands.
