With the US plant-based meat category not hitting the heights many advocates had forecast, perhaps it’s no surprise some of the principal players in the market have been weighing up moves into other product areas. But has Beyond Meat, with its testing of the (protein) water in beverages, gone too far?
The news the Beyond Burger business is test-launching a line of “plant protein” beverages has raised eyebrows. Some industry watchers are baffled by the move; others have applauded the company for being creative.
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Beyond Meat has developed a line of three “protein drinks” and is trialling the products “exclusively for a limited time” on Beyond Test Kitchen, its direct-to-consumer site.
The beverages, marketed under the Beyond Immerse sub-brand, are “an innovative combination of plant protein, fibre, antioxidants and electrolytes”, the California-based company says.
The protein in the 12 fluid-ounce drinks come from peas while the products also contain fibre from tapioca.
A Beyond Meat spokesperson said consumer interest in sourcing protein from different products had sparked the move.
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By GlobalDataHowever, they were coy about whether the company wanted to roll out the product more widely.
“The consumer is now increasingly looking for protein outside of the centre of the plate, and plants can deliver it within an overall package – fibre antioxidants, electrolytes, etc – that has fantastic benefits for the human body,” the spokesperson said. “We are monitoring the launch to determine next steps.”
There’s little point going over old ground: that the market for plant-based meat has not reached the level its supporters had predicted has been covered extensively in the last couple of years, including by this publication.
Demand has waned in markets including the US and the UK with consumers unconvinced by the taste of products and price another drag on shopper sentiment.
Beyond Meat has faced some significant challenges, with sales declining and successive quarters of losses. In September, the company launched a debt swap and equity exchange to bolster its balance sheet.
“We’ve been in our turnaround phase for too long, and moving forward, you will not simply see more of the same from us,” Beyond Meat founder and CEO Ethan Brown said in November during a third-quarter results call with analysts after reporting a blow-out in net losses linked to a $77.4m impairment charge and another drop in sales. “There is plenty of fight left in Beyond and enormous enthusiasm to use this reset to hasten our future as a global protein company of tomorrow.”
This month has also seen Beyond Meat rival Impossible Foods announce plans to develop products outside faux burgers and bangers.
Impossible Foods is teaming up with food-tech firm Equii to expand its protein offering beyond plant-based meat.
The move will see Impossible Foods add high-protein, grain-based, bread and pasta added to its product range.
In a way, you can’t blame the likes of Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods for looking at other opportunities, especially with protein’s stock so high among consumers.
“Is a functional beverage aimed at muscle and gut health on trend right now? Absolutely. Does Beyond have the pea protein expertise to technically pull this off? Without a doubt. Is this a smart way to innovate out of a slump and utilise a likely surplus of pea protein? One hundred per cent,” Kevin Ryan, a former General Mills innovation executive, says. “I want to root for this. We should celebrate a brand looking for an escape hatch from a declining business by thinking laterally.”
However, Ryan, who runs his own consultancy, Malachite Strategy and Research, has questions about the way in which Beyond Meat has branded its new product.
“By keeping the master brand (and specifically the iconic cape-wearing cow) on the label, they have created a brand stretch that just doesn’t work,” he explained in a LinkedIn post. “The brand has spent so much money and time connecting the Beyond name and logo to savoury and fatty flavours that they should have anticipated the severe and visceral cognitive dissonance this would create.”
Ivan Torossian, consulting director at GlobalData, Just Drinks’ parent, also has misgivings about the branding. “Using the Beyond brand provides immediate recognition and credibility around protein and plant-based products but also exposes the brand to failure in a category where it has no prior track record. Would you buy a plant-based burger with the Celsius brand?” he says.
“The cow/bull imagery is deliberately provocative and, I get it, they are trying to reinforce the message of ‘protein equivalence’ compared to animal-based products but it could also confuse consumers who associate cattle with dairy, rather than with water or functional beverages.
“And, honestly, the can looks more like an energy drink than a protein drink. I don’t see a future for this product line at all.”
Others have more fundamental concerns. Stefano Di Napoli, the founder of the UK-based Consumer Products Growth Strategy consultancy, points to Beyond Meat’s financial performance, which he says might explain why the company is testing other products “but also makes it more worrying”.
Launching real meat would almost feel more coherent
Stefano Di Napoli, Consumer Products Growth Strategy
He adds: “Against that backdrop, this launch looks less like a logical adjacency and more like a last-ditch attempt to chase growth wherever it appears. I struggle to see any real synergies with Beyond Meat’s core capabilities or brand equity – to the point where launching real meat would almost feel more coherent.”
Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods will have to hope their brands carry enough weight to resonate with those interested in protein-packed breads or beverages. On paper, Impossible Foods’ venture with Equii, focusing on breads and pasta, is closer to its core business and is easier to understand.
However, the two companies will face competition in those product areas and it will be important they do not forget the work they need to do to try to breathe fresh life into their core meat-free businesses.
Quorn Foods, for example, has had its own issues trying to revitalise sales in the UK but the company is having some success with new snacking and on-the-go products that are much closer to where its brand already sits.
The plant-based meat category itself isn’t dead, Di Napoli says. “Consumers still want to reduce meat consumption and retailers still want the category to grow. But the way forward is fixing the core: better taste, less processing and better economics. The industry is clearly entering a consolidation phase and only brands that double down on product quality and a clear reason to exist will survive. From that perspective, this move suggests Beyond Meat is avoiding its fundamental problems rather than addressing them.”
Torossian agrees. Functional water, he says, is growing but crowded. Beyond Meat might have been attracted to drinks due to the potential for simpler supply chains and better margins, Torossian says but he adds: “This feels like a low-commitment experiment. framing it as a test launch suggests that Beyond is gauging consumer reaction rather than making a full-blown strategic bet.
“Beyond’s main challenge remains processed perception, taste, price and repeat purchases in the meat-substitute category and I think entering the beverage market could divert management focus and brand clarity at a time when the core business arguably needs more precise execution.
“This, in my opinion, desperate move is understandable given the pressures in the category but I firmly believe Beyond Meat should focus on fixing its core offering, rather than completely redefining what the Beyond brand stands for.”
