Macca’s dumps McVeggie burger

9th July 2021 | Eativity editors
McVeggie burger

While plant-based burgers have exploded in popularity across the globe, it seems that not everyone is getting it right. Not even the biggest of the big guns in the burger industry. McDonald’s Australia has quietly pulled the McVeggie burger from its menus less than two years after it was first introduced. According to a Macca’s spokesperson, the decision was made because not enough people were buying it.

This could be because the burger wasn’t really vegetarian. While it contained a plant-based patty, McDonald’s said at the time of the burger’s release that although there were no meat ingredients in the McVeggie burger, due to its cooking procedure – on the same grill as meat products – it wasn’t “strictly vegetarian”. Confusing, yes, but the McSortofVeggie burger probably doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. The Hungry Jacks Rebel Whopper has also raised the ire of vegos and vegans for the same reason.

McVeggie burger and Rebel Whopper both cooked on the same grill as meat
While it doesn’t contain meat, the Rebel Whopper is also cooked on the same grill as beef.

A second chance

The failure of the McVeggie shows that just slapping a vegetable patty on a bun and giving it a vegetarian-sounding name isn’t enough to cash in on the lucrative plant-based burger market. But Emily Rice, Senior Outreach and Partnerships Manager at PETA, says that dropping the McVeggie burger gives Macca’s a chance to get it right next time.

“This decision makes room on McDonald’s menu for what a growing percentage of Aussies really want,” she says. “A juicy, smoky, meaty vegan burger with vegan cheese and sauces.

“Gone are the days when you could toss a vegan a potato cake with no trimmings. Fast food chains all over the world have upped their game. They’re now attracting both casual and lifelong plant-based diners with burgers that taste like meat but come without the cruelty and environmental destruction. We’re excited to see what McDonalds bring to the table next. A vegan quarter pounder, perhaps?”