Can a healthier plant-based burger combat falling US sales? Beyond Meat hopes so
Beyond Meat is revamping its signature plant-based burger, hoping that healthier ingredients will help it boost flagging U.S. sales
Beyond Meat is revamping its signature plant-based burger, hoping that healthier ingredients will help it boost flagging U.S. sales.
The El Segundo, California-based company said Wednesday its new Beyond Burger patties and Beyond Beef grounds cut saturated fat by 60% by switching from canola and coconut oils to avocado oil. The new beef products also have less sodium and more protein.
The new products go on sale in the U.S. this spring.
Beyond Meat has updated its products before; this is the fourth generation of the Beyond Burger. But Beyond Meat Founder and CEO Ethan Brown said this is the biggest leap forward the brand has made since the Beyond Burger went on sale in 2016.
Brown said the company spent years developing the new recipe with input from nutritionists and doctors, trying to provide the benefits of plant-based eating in a burger that mimics the taste and texture of animal meat.
“Health is one of the top drivers to the plant-based meat category, and we feel a deep responsibility to deliver on that expectation for the consumer,” Brown told The Associated Press.
Beyond Meat is also under pressure to reverse declining U.S. sales. In the first nine months of 2023, the company’s U.S. revenue dropped 34% on weak consumer demand. The company said in November it was cutting 19% of its workforce and considering cutting some products, like jerky, and reducing its operations in China.
Beyond Meat's sales have been rising in Europe, where it sells burgers and nuggets at McDonald's. In the first nine months of last year, its international revenue rose 17%. But that hasn't been enough to
Read more on abcnews.go.com
