With sales down 20% and layoffs hitting 6% of its workforce,
Beyond Meat is acknowledging that its moment in the plant-based spotlight has faded — at least for now. The company, which is cutting about 44 jobs, says it needs “a fundamental reset for
our brand and category,” according to president and CEO Ethan Brown.
To lead that reset, Beyond has tapped John Boken of consulting firm AlixPartners as interim chief transformation
officer. It’s also leaning into a shorter name — “Beyond” — in a bid to shed some of the baggage around meat imitation.
“We
believe it provides for reduced emphasis on facsimile,” Brown told investors on a webcast, referring to the “complicated frame” of animal protein replication. He said the streamlined
name could also help “widen our aperture beyond animal protein replicates” and into broader consumer protein needs.
One example: Beyond Ground, a
new direction for the company, which has just begun testing on social media. Unlike the company's other products, which contain many ingredients and are positioned as faux ground beef, chicken or
pork, this doesn't pretend to be anything but what it is: A simple mince. It is made of four ingredients – water, faba bean protein, potato protein and psyllium husks. The product began testing
on social media in recent weeks, drawing what the company called “enthusiastic” — if narrow — consumer interest.
For the quarter,
sales fell to $75 million, with a net loss of $33.2 million. Brown cited multiple headwinds: higher prices, growing demand for high-protein diets, and a surge in traditional meat consumption. In
April, the company tried to counter misperceptions with “Planting Change,” a nine-minute YouTube documentary comparing Big Beef to Big Tobacco.
Still, the broader market trend is daunting. After years of growth in meat reduction, consumers are reversing course. FMI-The Food Industry Association reports that the share of
shoppers avoiding meat dropped from 37% in 2022 to just 22% this year — a nearly 40% decline in two years. “Animal meats are having a moment that currently leaves less room for our
products and brand,” Brown said, adding that such swings are cyclical and plant-based eating could regain momentum.
He closed the call with a dose of
optimism: “The necessity of this reset does not, however, reduce or diminish our conviction or enthusiasm for the future that awaits.”