Jump to content

Beyond Meat

Page semi-protected
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Beyond Meat, Inc.
Company typePublic
IndustryFood
Founded2009; 15 years ago (2009)
FounderEthan Brown
HeadquartersEl Segundo, California, U.S.
Revenue Decrease US$343.4 million (2023)[1]
Increase US$−338.1 million (2023)[1]
Number of employees
686 (31 December 2023)[1]
Websitebeyondmeat.com

Beyond Meat, Inc. is a producer of plant-based meat substitutes founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown. The company's initial products were launched in the United States in 2012.[2][3][4][5] The company went public in 2019, becoming the first plant-based meat analogue company to go public.[6]

History

A Beyond burger served at a restaurant in Tuolumne County, California, United States

Founding

Ethan Brown founded the company in 2009 with the stated mission of combating climate change.[7] Brown initially contacted two University of Missouri professors, Fu-hung Hsieh and Harold Huff, who had been developing their meatless protein for years.[7][8]

Upon licensing Hsieh and Huff's technology, Beyond Meat launched its first product, Beyond Chicken Strips (originally called "Chicken-Free Strips"),[9] at Whole Foods in 2012 and expanded nationally in 2013.[7][8][10] In 2014, Beyond Meat developed its first plant-based beef product, Beyond Beef Crumbles, and has since expanded into plant-based pork.[11] The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) named Beyond Meat as its Company of the Year for 2013.[12][13]

IPO and finance

Over the years 2013 to 2016, the company received venture funding from GreatPoint Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Obvious Corporation, Bill Gates, Biz Stone, the Humane Society[14][15] and Tyson Foods.[16] Tyson Foods purchased a 5% stake in Beyond Meat in October 2016,[17] but sold its 6.5% stake and exited the investment in April 2019, ahead of the company's initial public offering.[18]

By 2018, Beyond Meat had raised US$72 million in venture financing.[19] Beyond Meat is also backed by celebrity and athlete investors such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Jessica Chastain, Snoop Dogg, Liza Koshy, Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, DeAndre Hopkins and others.[20][21][22]

In May 2019, Beyond Meat went public and trades on the United States Nasdaq exchange under the symbol BYND.[23] It is the first plant-based meat analogue company to go public.[6] On the day of its IPO, the company was valued at $3.8 billion and was the best-performing public offering by a major U.S. company in almost two decades.[24] As of June 2021, Beyond Meat had a market cap of $9.44 billion.[25] In November 2020, Beyond Meat announced sales had only grown by 2% year-on-year compared to an expected increase of 40% due to the impact of COVID-19 on foodservice sales. Beyond Meat shifted its focus to grocery, convenience stores, and other forms of distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic.[26] By September 2022, the stock price had fallen to an all-time low, that was 93% lower than the all-time high set in July 2019 and 74% lower than at the start of 2022.[27] In October 2022, the company announced a 19% workforce reduction, or approximately 200 employees, due to revenue declines.[28] In November 2023, Beyond Meat announced additional layoffs after continued declining sales and a disappointing quarter, as sales fell approximately 9% during Q3 2023.[29]

Manufacturing

In the United States, Beyond Meat has several manufacturing facilities in the United States, including in Columbia, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.[30] In June 2018, Beyond Meat opened its second production facility in Columbia, Missouri, resulting in a three-fold increase of the company's manufacturing space.[31] In 2020, Beyond Meat acquired a manufacturing facility in Devault, Pennsylvania.[30] In Europe, Beyond Meat has two facilities in the Netherlands: a co-manufacturing facility in Zoeterwoude owned and operated by Dutch company Zandbergen, and an owned facility in Enschede. These two facilities service the distribution network across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.[32]

In China, Beyond Meat operates an owned manufacturing plant in Jiaxing, Zhejiang. It is the company's first "end-to-end manufacturing facility" outside of the United States and began full-scale production in 2021.[33]

Research and innovation

In 2018, Beyond Meat opened a 26,000 square feet (2,400 m2) R&D lab in El Segundo, California.[34][35] In January 2021, Beyond Meat announced that it will be opening a new global headquarters in El Segundo, CA later that year. The company says the facility will house three to four times its current number of R&D team members once the campus is complete.[36]

Joint ventures and distribution

In July 2019, Dunkin' Donuts announced that they would begin selling breakfast sandwiches using the Meatless Sausage product in Manhattan, with plans for national distribution beginning on 6 November 2019.[37][38]

In November 2020, Beyond Meat announced a collaboration with McDonald's for development of the McPlant option, a plant-based patty and chicken substitute.[39] It started testing the McPlant in Denmark and Sweden in February 2021.[40] Beyond Meat also announced the launch in China of a plant-based version of minced pork.[41]

In 2020, Beyond Meat launched an e-commerce site to sell products directly to consumers.[42]

In January 2021, Taco Bell announced a collaboration with Beyond Meat, initially as a test and then as a permanent option for a new plant-based protein food.[43]

Also in January 2021, Beyond Meat and PepsiCo announced a joint venture, called The PLANeT Partnership, to develop and market plant-based snacks and drinks.[44]

In February 2021, Beyond Meat started a partnership with McDonald's and Yum Brands. These deals will bring new choices to the food menu, such as the McPlant Burger and the plant-protein based pizza toppings, chicken alternatives and possibly taco fillings for Yum Brands' restaurants KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.[45] Testing of the McPlant burger by McDonald's in the USA ended in July 2022 after poor sales in 600 restaurants, but the product is sold in several European countries.[46]

In September 2021, Beyond Meat announced it would begin selling their vegan chicken tenders in retail stores, including Walmart. [47]

Civil suit

In March 2019, a civil suit was filed against Beyond Meat by its former business partner and supplier, Don Lee Farms. This was prompted by Beyond Meat's switch to different suppliers, with whom they then shared details about the manufacturing process.[48] Don Lee Farms alleged breach of contract, and further alleged that they had expressed "significant concerns" about food safety protocols for raw materials produced at Beyond Meat's facility which were then given to Don Lee Farms for further processing.[49]

Products

Chicken strips

The company's first product launched in 2012 was designed to emulate chicken and sold frozen. The product was licensed from Harold Huff and Fu-Hung Hsieh at the University of Missouri.[9] They were made from "soy powder, gluten-free flour, carrot fiber and other ingredients" which were mixed and fed into a food extrusion machine that cooks the mixture while forcing it through a specially designed mechanism that uses steam, pressure, and cold water to form the product's chicken-like texture.[50][9] Although praised by some celebrities, journalists who tasted it said the "likeness to real chicken was tolerable, at best", and the chicken product was discontinued in 2019.[9]

Beyond Burger

A Beyond Meat burger

The company announced in 2014 that it had begun development of a new product emulating a beef burger, which was released in February 2015.[51][52][3]

Ingredients

The burgers are made from pea protein isolates, rice protein, mung bean protein, canola oil, coconut oil, potato starch, apple extract, sunflower lecithin, and pomegranate powder.[53] Beef products that "bleed" are achieved by using red beet juice.[54] The products are certified as not containing genetically modified ingredients.[55] The number of ingredients and processes involved in making the products mean they are classified as ultra-processed foods in the Nova classification.[56]

One burger patty contains 1,100 kilojoules (270 kilocalories) of food energy, twenty grams of protein, twenty grams of fat (of which five grams is saturated fat) and one gram of salt. The protein and fat content are similar to a beef patty of a similar weight, but the salt content is "much higher".[56] Nutrition of the burger varies according to the restaurant chain in which it is served.[57]

Beyond Sausage

In December 2017, the company announced a vegan alternative to pork sausage called "Beyond Sausage".[58] The three varieties of "sausage" were called Bratwurst, Hot Italian, and Sweet Italian.[59]

  • Beyond Sausage, raw
    Beyond Sausage, raw
  • Beyond Sausage, cooked
    Beyond Sausage, cooked

Beyond Meatballs

"Beyond Meatballs", a plant-based alternative to traditional meatballs, were first introduced at Subway in 2019 through the Beyond Meatball Marinara sub.[60] In September 2020, Beyond Meat announced the rollout of Beyond Meatballs at select grocery stores across the U.S.[61]

Beyond Meat Jerky

Beyond Meat Jerky is the company's first shelf stable product and the first product produced with PepsiCo under the PLANeT Partnership.[62]

Beyond Mince

In 2021, the Beyond range in the UK expanded to include 'Beyond Mince'.[63]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Beyond Meat 2023 Annual Report". investors.beyondmeat.com. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  2. ^ Jacobsen, Rowan (26 December 2014). "This Top-Secret Food Will Change the Way You Eat". outsideonline.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b Flanagan, Graham (7 July 2014). "This Fake Meat Is So Good It Fooled Whole Foods Customers For 3 Days". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 16 April 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  4. ^ Strickland, Julie (7 May 2013). "Fake Meat for the Masses?". Inc. Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  5. ^ Wellesley, Laura (10 May 2019). "The vegetarian 'meat' aimed at replacing the real thing". Chatham House. BBC. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  6. ^ a b Popper, Nathaniel (2 May 2019). "Beyond Meat's Share Price Surges on First Day of Trading". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  7. ^ a b c Bronner, Stephen J. (22 January 2018). "With $72 Million in Funding, the Entrepreneur Behind Beyond Meat Pursues Innovation Over Profit". Entrepreneur.
  8. ^ a b "Need to Know: Tastes like chicken, made in a lab". america.aljazeera.com.
  9. ^ a b c d Andrews, Joe (29 July 2019). "Beyond Meat's chicken came first, and it was a failure. Wall Street and investors don't care". CNBC. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  10. ^ Manjoo, Farhad (26 July 2012). "Beyond Meat's Fake Chicken Tastes So Real That It Will Freak You Out". Slate Magazine.
  11. ^ Watson, Elaine (3 April 2014). "Beyond Meat founders: 'We're a meat company that makes products from plants'". foodnavigator-usa.com.
  12. ^ "Meet the man behind 'Beyond Meat' plant-based protein substitute". CBS News. 13 February 2014.
  13. ^ Jane Black (2 February 2014). "43. Beyond Meat". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 3 September 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  14. ^ Darrell Etherington (7 May 2013). "We're 80% of the way to fake meat that's indistinguishable from the real thing". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Where's the beef? Not in these new plant-based burgers". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  16. ^ "Tyson Foods Invests in Beyond Meat". 10 October 2016. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  17. ^ Strom, Stephanie (10 October 2016). "Tyson Foods, a Meat Leader, Invests in Protein Alternatives". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  18. ^ "Tyson sells stake in plant-based meat maker Beyond Meat". Reuters. 24 April 2019. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  19. ^ Bronner, Stephen J. (22 January 2018). "With $72 million in funding, the entrepreneur behind Beyond Meat pursues innovation over profit". Entrepreneur. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  20. ^ "Snoop Dogg On How He Introduced Plant-Based Meat to His Family". The Beet. 16 June 2020.
  21. ^ Sprung, Shlomo (20 February 2019). "DeAndre Jordan, Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul Invest in Plant-Based Food Company Beyond Meat". Forbes.
  22. ^ "Vegan-Friendly, Celeb-Backed Beyond Meat Has 2019's Best U.S. IPO". Time. 2 May 2019.
  23. ^ "Summary for Beyond Meat, Inc., BYND". Yahoo Finance. 30 July 2019. Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  24. ^ Murphy, Mike (5 May 2019). "Beyond Meat soars 163% in biggest-popping U.S. IPO since 2000". MarketWatch.
  25. ^ "Beyond Meat, Inc. (BYND) Valuation Measures & Financial Statistics". finance.yahoo.com.
  26. ^ "Beyond Meat craters after big Q1 earnings loss amid 'slow thaw' from COVID-19". money.yahoo.com. 6 May 2021.
  27. ^ Palumbo, Angela (19 September 2022). "Beyond Meat Stock Hits All-Time Low. Inflation Taking Bite Out of Plant-Based Industry". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  28. ^ Pfanner, Eric (14 October 2022). "Beyond Meat fires nose-biting executive, cuts sales outlook, says it will lay off a fifth of its staff". Fortune. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  29. ^ "Beyond Meat plans layoffs as US sales plummet". Oregon Live. 9 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  30. ^ a b "Beyond Meat acquires co-packer to tackle unit costs". Supply Chain Dive. 11 November 2020.
  31. ^ Watson, Elaine (29 June 2018). "Beyond Meat triples manufacturing footprint". foodnavigator-usa.com. William Reed Business Media. Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  32. ^ White, Martin (11 June 2020). "Beyond Meat expands plant-based meat production in Europe". Foodbev.com.
  33. ^ Agomuoh, Fionna (7 April 2021). "Beyond Meat Opens China Plant, First Facility Outside U.S." TheStreet.
  34. ^ Raphael, Rina (19 July 2018). "Inside Beyond Meat's innovative future food lab". fastcompany.com. Archived from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  35. ^ Pomranz, Mike. "Beyond Meat's Massive New Lab Sounds Like Something Out of a Sci-Fi Novel". foodandwine.com. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  36. ^ Hunt, Rhian (15 January 2021). "Beyond Meat Leases Gigantic New Headquarters Building". Nasdaq.com.
  37. ^ Genovese, Daniella (21 October 2019). "Dunkin' announces nationwide rollout of Beyond Sausage Sandwich". FOXBusiness. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  38. ^ Danielle Wiener-Bronner. "Dunkin' is launching a breakfast sandwich with Beyond Meat sausage". Cnn.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  39. ^ Shieber, Jonathan (9 November 2020). "Beyond Meat shares rise on news that it collaborated with McDonald's on the McPlant options – TechCrunch". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  40. ^ Sanchez, Kait (2 February 2021). "McDonald's is testing the 'McPlant' burger in Denmark and Sweden". The Verge. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  41. ^ Michelle Toh (18 November 2020). "Beyond Meat launches plant-based minced pork in China". CNN Business. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  42. ^ Lyons, Kim (27 August 2020). "Beyond Meat launches website to sell plant-based meat directly to people online". The Verge. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  43. ^ TL Stanley (14 January 2021). "As Taco Bell Brings Back Potatoes, a Plant-Based Partnership With Beyond Is in the Works". AdWeek. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  44. ^ Matthews, Dylan (27 January 2021). "Beyond Meat and Pepsi are teaming up to make plant-based snacks and drinks". Vox. Archived from the original on 5 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  45. ^ Jordan Valinsky. "Beyond Meat strikes partnerships with McDonald's and Yum Brands". CNN. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  46. ^ Lucas, Amelia (28 July 2022). "Beyond Meat stock falls after conclusion of McDonald's McPlant test". CNBC. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  47. ^ Starostinetskaya, Anna. "Beyond Meat's Vegan Chicken Tenders Are Coming to a Walmart Near You". VegNews.com. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  48. ^ Watson, Elaine (3 February 2020). "Beyond Meat hits back at former co-manufacturer as shareholders file lawsuit: 'We simply couldn't get Don Lee Farms to meet our standards'". foodnavigator-usa.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  49. ^ Beyond Meat Sued by Former Partner Don Lee Farms Archived 26 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Specialty Food News 3 November 2019, accessed 25 April 2019
  50. ^ Alton Brown (September 2013). "Tastes Like Chicken". Wired. Archived from the original on 21 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  51. ^ "Beyond Meat Pitching Beast Burger to Big Leagues". VegNews. 7 July 2014. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  52. ^ Haber, Matt (9 April 2015). "How Long Before Silicon Valley Can Produce Fake Meat That Tastes Like Real Meat?". New York Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  53. ^ Moskin, Julia (22 October 2019). "How Do the New Plant-Based Burgers Stack Up? We Taste-Tested Them". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  54. ^ "Beyond Burger, FAQ, Beyond Meat, Inc". Beyond Meat, Inc. 2019. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  55. ^ Starostinetskaya, Anna (24 July 2018). "Beyond Meat Obtains Non-GMO Certification". VegNews. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  56. ^ a b Fernstrom, Madelyn (17 October 2019). "Impossible and Beyond: Are meatless burgers really healthier?". NBC News. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  57. ^ Capritto, Amanda. "Impossible Burger vs Beyond Meat Burger, Taste, Ingredients and availability compared". CNET. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  58. ^ Kowitt, Beth (18 December 2017). "Food Tech Startup Beyond Meat Is Rolling Out a Plant-Based Sausage". Fortune. Archived from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  59. ^ Minton, Melissa (18 December 2017). "Beyond Meat Debuts First Plant-Based Sausage in Three Flavors". Bon Appetit. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  60. ^ Tyko, Kelly. "Subway will test plant-based Beyond Meatball Marinara sub at select locations". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  61. ^ Leggate, James (15 September 2020). "Beyond Meat selling plant-based meatballs at grocery stores". FOXBusiness. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  62. ^ "Beyond Meat Is Now Making Plant-Based Jerky". Foodandwine.com. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  63. ^ "Beyond Meat launches plant-based mince with more protein than beef in UK supermarkets". www.veganfoodandliving.com. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2022.

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beyond Meat.
  • Official website
  • Business data for Beyond Meat:
  • Beyond Meat on Twitter Edit this at Wikidata
  • Beyond Meat on Threads Edit this at Wikidata
  • Beyond Meat on Instagram Edit this at Wikidata
  • Beyond Meat on TikTok Edit this at Wikidata
  • Beyond Meat on Facebook Edit this at Wikidata
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beyond_Meat&oldid=1256181896"