Tofurky Founder Samples McDonald’s McVegan in Finland

Seth Tibbott, who founded Tofurky almost 40 years ago, heads to McDonald’s to try its new vegan burger option—which he ordered as a “Happy Meal.”


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Seth Tibbott, founder of vegan brand Tofurky, recently traveled to Finland to sample the McVegan—a vegan burger launched by McDonald’s in Finland and Sweden earlier this year. Tibbott ordered the McVegan as a “Happy Meal” (which included French fries and a Coca-Cola) and saved the burger packaging as his only souvenir from Finland. While Tibbott did not find the burger “juicy” and said “it could have used some Veganiaise,” he described the McVegan as “pleasant and savory” and said that he left McDonald’s—which sells the McVegan for a price comparable to its animal-based counterparts—feeling satisfied. “Eating the McVegan felt very historic,” Tibbott told VegNews. “A tipping point of sorts.” Tibbott launched Tofurky in 1980 and said that he has witnessed the global vegan landscape change in the previous four decades. “When I became a vegetarian in 1973, we made our own granola, soy patties, and tortillas,” Tibbott said. “Now we are not only living in the age of the McVegan burger but also of the 53 frozen vegan products I found in the supermarket across the street from McDonald’s in Helsinki.” McDonald’s reported that it sold 150,000 McVegans in the month of January across the Nordic region. “The pace is quickening out here now,” Tibbott said, “and it feels unstoppable.”

Photo courtesy of Sett Tibbott