NOT so long ago, if you announced a plan to supply fast food chain McDonald's with an alternative to beef, people would think you were mad, or at best, deluded.

But times have changed, and no one is more aware of that than McDonald's. As a result, Marlow Foods, of Stokesley, North Yorkshire, has been signed up to supply its Quorn burgers to 1,235 restaurants across the UK.

The company, which employs 340 staff and has a turnover of more than £80m, has already achieved national recognition for its brand, launched in 1994. Its products, including Quorn burgers and mince, are a familiar sight on the nation's supermarket shelves.

With the UK retail market for meat-free products estimated to be worth about £600m a year, McDonald's could be in little doubt that meat-free burgers would appeal to diners.

The increasing popularity of what are seen as healthier options has already led the US corporation to introduce fruit, spring water and a range of yogurt desserts into its restaurants - not because the company fears the UK's love of burgers has waned, but simply because today's customers want more choice.

The company has also stopped branding everything it sells, with names such as Evian, Robinsons, and Danon regulars in restaurants.

Andrew Taylor, chief executive of McDonald's Restaurants (UK) Ltd, said: "People are more interested in food than ever before, and particularly what goes into it. They especially want to ensure that what they give their children to eat is healthy.

"We have tried introducing healthy eating products, such as a vegetable burger, in the past, but they have not proved popular, and we withdrew them from sale.

"We are much more confident about the Quorn range. It simply tastes a lot better, and feedback from customers has been very positive."

Marlow Foods was originally part of ICI, before changing hands to Zeneca, when ICI spun off that part of its operations in 1993.

It was bought by Montagu Private Equity for £70m in May last year. It currently produces about 25 products, including a range of ready meals.

The company entered the US market with its products two years ago, and they quickly became the number one and number two best-selling meat-free products in the country.

Nick Hughes, managing director, said: "It has been an excellent couple of years for Marlow, with the success of our meat-free products in the US, followed by the interest shown by McDonald's.

"We are delighted to be involved with a multi-national operation like McDonald's, and to have our products on offer in its restaurants.

Mr Taylor said: "It is the success of the Quorn range that made us choose Marlow as a partner.

"There are numerous other vegetarian alternatives, but none that suited our purposes as well as Quorn.

"People are so much more aware of what goes into the food they eat. I think it comes naturally after the scares in the past about salmonella in eggs, and BSE in beef.

"It is also about McDonald's being seen as something other than a burger company.

"When I first started with McDonald's 25 years ago, it was still known as the McDonald's Hamburger chain. That was all it did at the time. I think we are far more than that nowadays."

He admitted that, in some respects, the move to salads and Quorn in its restaurants is an attempt to take a leaf out of the book of that British institution of the High Street, Marks & Spencer.

He said: "M&S has an enviable reputation for its food products.

"The introduction of food-only M&S stores is proof of its pulling power when it comes to the snack market.

"Their range of salads and sandwiches is something McDonald's would like to match for quality. We are going to have to work very hard to achieve that."

At first, it may seem that McDonald's is facing an uphill struggle to change the perceptions of what it does.

But, as Mr Taylor points out: "Take a look in a McDonald's restaurant in the North-East on a busy lunchtime, and you will see people not only eating our traditional burger products, but also trying our healthy eating range.

"We sold ten million fruit bags in the first year of their introduction. They proved very popular with mothers, looking for healthier desserts for their children."

Marlow Foods intends to help McDonald's continue to expand its healthy options.

Mr Hughes said: "Following the success of Quorn, we plan to develop more products that we can introduce to McDonald's restaurants.

"It is going to allow customers to sample something different, and help the company to grow its menu."

It is also going to help Marlow, as Mr Hughes added: "Thanks to our exposure through McDonald's and the leading supermarket chains, 85 per cent of the UK population has now heard of Quorn and know what it is, and at least 25 million people have sampled the product in the UK.