Beyond Meat is Launching Vegan Steak This Year, Says CEO

EAT

Jul 11

The California-based company famed for its plant-based burgers, sausages and meatballs is diving into the world of whole-cut meats with its latest product: vegan steak.

Beyond Meat has just unveiled its newest product designed to tempt even the most dedicated animal-meat eaters to switch to plant-based: whole-cut vegan steak. The California-based company is set to launch the steak product later this year, starting in retail stores, followed by restaurants.

Announcing the news during The Wall Street Journal’s Global Food Forum, Beyond Meat’s CEO Ethan Brown said: “It’s probably one of our best products to date.”

The new vegan steak is coming in a sliced format and represents Beyond’s entrance into the whole-cut plant-based meat field. The company’s previous offerings have focused on minced and ground foods, including chicken tenders, burger patties, sausages, and meatballs.

“The reasons to do what we’re doing and the reason for the consumer to engage with what we’re doing strengthens every day,” said Brown. “There’s the pandemic. There’s [the] recession. There’s [the] gas prices. There’s all this noise out there, but what continues to strengthen is the need to do what we’re doing.

"We’re getting better at that every year and with reason to do it in terms of climate, human health, the overall environment (land, energy, and water), and animal welfare … all those reasons continue to be present and increase in importance.”

The news comes as Beyond’s stock market performance dipped in recent quarters, with the company’s value falling by nearly 43 percent over the last five years. But for Brown, the challenges are all part of disrupting the global meat industry and do not deter him from his long-term mission.

“You’re going to have disturbances and you’re going to have distractions as you build a new category,” said Brown. “You go for a long run. You take a plateau. You go for another long run and then all of a sudden it’s mainstream,” he said. “That’s what’s happening in [the plant-based] sector.”

What we eat matters

Plant-based meat is touted as one of the leading solutions to combating the animal suffering and environmental devastation caused by the world’s current reliance on animal-based meat products. In 2021 alone, 57 percent of U.S. households bought plant-based meats and according to the nonprofit organization Good Food Institute (GFI), the cost of plant-based meat is projected to reach parity with conventional animal meat by 2023.

Founded in 2019, Beyond Meat is a leader in the plant-based meat sphere, boasting partnerships with leading food chains including McDonald's, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC.

“What I see is an increasing global opportunity into a $1.4 trillion market,” said Brown. “All of these things are about building the next global protein company. And my vision for this is a $40 billion company, not a $4 billion company. So I don’t think in quarterly terms. I don’t think in annual terms. I think in a longer-term perspective we will deliver on this. I am absolutely certain of that.”

The vegan steak joins a growing list of new Beyond Meat items, which includes a plant-based beef jerky made from peas and mung beans, as the business increases the distribution of existing products like meatballs and chicken tenders to thousands of additional retail locations.

As part of its larger global expansion strategy, the firm is also working to increase its presence in Asia. Earlier this year, Beyond launched a store, featuring Beyond Pork made exclusively for the Chinese market, on the Chinese agriculture platform Pinduoduo. And in May, Beyond Meat rolled out two plant-based lunch boxes into more than 2,300 stores in partnership with the Chinese convenience brand, Lawson.

And it looks like we may expect to see more product releases from the plant-based pioneer. Last August, the company filed for 108 trademarks including Beyond Seafood, Beyond Milk, Beyond Tuna, and more.

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