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Do Americans want\u00a0plant-based options<\/a>\u00a0at fast-food restaurants? Two recent moves show restaurant chains are still undecided.<\/p>\n On Wednesday,\u00a0Panda Express<\/a>\u00a0said it is reintroducing plant-based chicken \u2013 which it developed with El Segundo, California-based\u00a0Beyond Meat<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 at hundreds of U.S. stores. Beyond<\/a> Orange Chicken will be available for a limited time, Panda Express said.<\/p>\n But last week, McDonald\u2019s revealed it has pulled the plug in the U.S. on the McPlant, the plant-based\u00a0burger<\/a>\u00a0it co-developed with Beyond Meat. During an appearance at the Wall Street Journal\u2019s Global Food Forum, McDonald\u2019s U.S. President Joe Erlinger said the\u00a0company\u2019s 2022 test<\/a>\u00a0of the McPlant at stores in San Francisco and Dallas was \u201cnot successful in either market.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think the U.S. consumer is\u2026 looking for the McPlant or other plant-based proteins from McDonald\u2019s,\u201d Erlinger said.<\/p>\n The McPlant has seen\u00a0more success in Europe<\/a>, where consumers are much more receptive to ordering plant-based products at a\u00a0McDonald\u2019s<\/a>. The McPlant is now a permanent menu item in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and other markets, and McDonald\u2019s introduced plant-based McNuggets \u2013 also developed with Beyond Meat \u2013 in Europe last year.<\/p>\n Erlinger said McDonald\u2019s will keep an eye on plant-based trends, but prefers to focus on chicken in the U.S. right now.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve never received so many social media comments begging for an entree\u2019s return,\u201d a Panda Express spokesperson said. The company said fans even started a petition asking the company to bring the dish back.<\/p>\n \u201cIf our fans continue to love and demand it, there\u2019s potential to expand availability,\u201d the Rosemead, California-based company said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n