BEYOND MEAT

Ethan Brown grew up on a family farm in Maryland and spent time working in clean energy before becoming obsessed with the environmental impact of animal agriculture. He believed that if you could make a plant-based protein that looked and tasted like meat, you could shift consumer behavior without requiring willpower or moral arguments.

He founded Beyond Meat in 2009, recruited food scientists from the University of Missouri who had been working on plant protein technology, and spent years iterating on the product. The Beyond Burger launched in 2016, initially in the meat aisle (not the health food section) of Whole Foods — a deliberate positioning choice.

Beyond Meat makes plant-based meat products from pea protein, rice protein, and other plant ingredients. Products include the Beyond Burger, Beyond Sausage, Beyond Chicken, and jerky.

Revenue comes from retail grocery sales (the larger segment) and foodservice (McDonald's McPlant, KFC, Panda Express, etc.). The company sells in 80+ countries through major grocery chains.

Beyond Burger, Beyond Sausage, Beyond Chicken Tenders, Beyond Chicken Nuggets, Beyond Steak, Beyond Jerky, McDonald's McPlant (partnership)

Cut costs dramatically — Beyond Meat has been reducing headcount and production costs to reach cash flow breakeven. Improve the product (taste, texture, nutrition, shorter ingredient list).

Push international expansion where plant-based meat is earlier in the adoption curve. Launch value-priced products to compete with conventional meat on price.

The plant-based meat market crashed after the initial hype. Beyond Meat's revenue has declined year-over-year, the stock is down 95%+ from its all-time high, and the company is burning cash.

Consumer trial rates were high but repeat purchase rates were low — people tried it, thought it was okay, and went back to beef. Price premium, taste gap, and "ultraprocessed" health concerns all contribute.

The company needs to reach profitability to survive.

Kleiner Perkins, Obvious Ventures, Tyson Foods (early investor, later sold), Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio, public market investors