Beyond Meat

Beyond Meat is a Los Angeles-based producer of plant-based meat substitutes founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown. The company's initial products became available across the United States in 2012.[2][3][4][5] The company has products designed to simulate chicken, beef, and pork sausage. As of 2020, Beyond products are widely available in most U.S. grocery stores,[6] and the company's web site lists availability at over 60 restaurant chains and venues such as stadiums and campus cafeterias.[7]

Beyond Meat, Inc.
Public
Traded asNASDAQ: BYND
ISINUS08862E1091 
IndustryFood
Founded2009 (2009)
FounderEthan Brown
Headquarters
El Segundo, California, U.S.
RevenueUS$33 million (2017), 87.9 million 2018[1]
Number of employees
400 (June 29, 2019)
Websitebeyondmeat.com

History

The company was founded as a California-based startup by Ethan Brown in 2009.[8] The company has received venture funding from GreatPoint Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Obvious Corporation, Bill Gates, Biz Stone, the Humane Society[9][10] and Tyson Foods.[11] The company began selling its plant-based chicken products in Whole Foods supermarkets across the US in April 2013.[12][13] In 2014, it developed a simulated beef product.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals named Beyond Meat as its company of the year for 2013.[14][15]

Beyond Burger packaging

In 2014 Beyond Meat expanded its presence from 1,500 to 6,000 stores across the US.[16]

Tyson Foods purchased a 5% stake in Beyond Meat in October 2016.[17] It sold its 6.5% stake and exited the investment in April 2019, ahead of the company's initial public offering.[18]

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.[19] The company also claimed to have 27,000 different points of distribution for their products in the United States.[20] In July, the company was rolling out their products to 50 international markets, partnering with Tesco in the UK and Tim Hortons[21] and A&W in Canada.[22] 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 November 6, 2019.[23][24]

As of July 2019, Beyond Meat had a market value of US$11.7 billion,[25] following a value of $3.8 billion on the day of its initial public offering, May 2, 2019.[26] Beyond Meat trades on the United States NASDAQ exchange under the symbol BYND.[25]

Products

The company develops and manufactures a variety of protein-based food products.[27] The vegan meat substitutes are made from mixtures of pea protein isolates, rice protein, mung bean protein, canola oil, coconut oil, and other ingredients like potato starch, apple extract, sunflower lecithin, and pomegranate powder with a range of vitamins and minerals.[28][29] Beef products that "bleed" are achieved by using red beet juice.[27]

One Beyond Meat burger patty provides 1,100 kilojoules (270 kilocalories) of food energy and 5 grams of saturated fat.[30] Nutrition of the burger varies according to the restaurant chain in which it is served.[31]

A Beyond Burger

The ingredients are 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.[13]

As of 2014, the company's product offerings consisted of Beyond Chicken and Beyond Beef.[32] The company's two flavours of imitation ground beef product are made from pea proteins, canola oil, and various seasonings. The company announced in 2014 that it had begun development and testing of a new product called "The Beast". The vegetable protein-based burger patties were taste tested by the New York Mets during a pregame event.[33][34]

The soy-free vegan burger patties branded as "The Beast" were released in February 2015.[35][3][32] The Beast Burger contained 23 grams of protein and has micronutrients added during manufacturing.[36][37]

In December 2017, the company announced a vegan alternative to pork sausage called "Beyond Sausage".[38] The three varieties of "sausage" were called Bratwurst, Hot Italian, and Sweet Italian.[39] As of July 2019, the company was producing plant-based products for burgers, beef, beef crumbles, and sausage.[40]

Sustainability
Beyond Sausage, raw (above) and cooked (below)

According to a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the Beyond Burger from the University of Michigan, the Beyond Burger generates 90% less greenhouse gas emissions, requires 46% less energy, has >99% less impact on water scarcity and 93% less impact on land use than a ¼ pound of U.S. beef.[41]

In September 2018, Beyond Meat received a Champions of the Earth award from the United Nations. This sought to recognize the company’s sustainability efforts beyond the product such as swapping plastic packaging trays to compostable tray for use in their Beyond Sausage.[42]

Technology

In July 2018, Beyond Meat opened a new R&D lab in El Segundo, California. The 26,000-square foot facility is an investment toward building plant-based meat.[43] The research & development center houses nearly 100 employees who work in eight distinct labs.[44]

Also in July 2018, Beyond Meat obtained non-GMO certification through The Non-GMO Project. The third-party organization conducted a one-year review of the brand to ensure that all ingredients, suppliers and manufacturing facilities are free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).[45]

Beyond Meat uses technology to take plant materials and run them through a system of heating, cooling, pressure and mixing to build meat directly from plants.[46]

Other

In March 2019, a civil suit was filed against Beyond Meat by its former business partner, Don Lee Farms, after Beyond Meat switched to using different suppliers for its products. Don Lee Farms alleged breach of contract, and further alleged that they had expressed "significant concerns" about food safety protocols at Beyond Meat's facility.[47]

In June 2019, the New Zealand restaurant Hell Pizza used the company's product for a "burger pizza" without disclosing that its "medium-rare burger patty" was not meat. The local Ministry for Primary Industries launched an investigation after several complaints, and concluded that the product description did not meet the food standards code, but declined to take formal action against the company.[48]

See also

References
  1. Aaron Back (May 7, 2019). "Beyond Meat Has Lessons to Serve Up". Heard on the Street. Wall Street Journal. p. B1.
  2. Jacobsen, Rowan (2014-12-26). "This Top-Secret Food Will Change the Way You Eat". outsideonline.com. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  3. Flanagan, Graham (7 July 2014). "This Fake Meat Is So Good It Fooled Whole Foods Customers For 3 Days". Business Insider. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  4. Strickland, Julie (May 7, 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. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  6. Where to Find
  7. "Food Service". Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  8. Marc Gunther (Oct 3, 2013). "Beyond Meat closes in on the perfect fake chicken, turns heads, tastebuds". Fortune. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  9. Darrell Etherington (May 7, 2013). "We're 80% of the way to fake meat that's indistinguishable from the real thing". TechCrunch. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  10. "Where's the beef? Not in these new plant-based burgers". USA TODAY.
  11. "Tyson Foods Invests in Beyond Meat". 10 October 2016.
  12. Farhad Manjoo (Jul 2012). "Fake Meat So Good it Will Freak You Out". Slate. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  13. Alton Brown (Sep 2013). "Tastes Like Chicken". Wired. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  14. Lulu Chang (Feb 7, 2014). "Meet the man behind "Beyond Meat" plant-based protein substitute". cbsnews. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  15. Jane Black (Feb 2, 2014). "43. Beyond Meat". Fast Company. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  16. Hughes, Holly (2015-10-20). Best Food Writing 2015. Hachette Books. ISBN 978-0-7382-1865-6.
  17. Strom, Stephanie (10 October 2016). "Tyson Foods, a Meat Leader, Invests in Protein Alternatives". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  18. "Tyson sells stake in plant-based meat maker Beyond Meat". Reuters. April 24, 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  19. Watson, Elaine (29 June 2018). "Beyond Meat triples manufacturing footprint". foodnavigator-usa.com. William Reed Business Media. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  20. "Beyond Meat expands its Missouri production facility". meatpoultry.com. meatpoultry.com. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  21. "Beyond Meat®". Tim Hortons. Retrieved Aug 26, 2019.
  22. Starostinetskaya, Anna (2 July 2018). "Beyond Meat Triples Production to Keep Up with Demand". VegNews. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  23. Genovese, Daniella (2019-10-21). "Dunkin' announces nationwide rollout of Beyond Sausage Sandwich". FOXBusiness. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  24. Business, Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN. "Dunkin' is launching a breakfast sandwich with Beyond Meat sausage". CNN. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  25. "Summary for Beyond Meat, Inc., BYND". Yahoo Finance. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  26. "Beyond Meat Just Had the Best IPO of 2019 as Value Soars to $3.8 Billion". Fortune. 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  27. "Beyond Burger, FAQ, Beyond Meat, Inc". Beyond Meat, Inc. 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  28. Root, Al. "Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods Could Be the Coke and Pepsi of Alternative Meat". Barrons.com.
  29. Stephanie Strom (April 2, 2014). "Fake Meats, Finally, Taste Like Chicken". New York Times. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  30. Harris, Sophia. "Beyond Meat says its burgers are healthier than beef, health experts aren't so sure". CBC. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  31. Capritto, Amanda. "Impossible Burger vs Beyond Meat Burger, Taste, Ingredients and availability compared". CNET. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  32. Jacob Barker (Aug 7, 2012). "Chicken substitute to be made in Columbia". Columbia Tribune. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  33. Sarah Nassauer (June 25, 2014). "Meatless Burgers Make Their MLB Pitch". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  34. "Beyond Meat Pitching Beast Burger to Big Leagues". VegNews. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  35. Haber, Matt (April 9, 2015). "How Long Before Silicon Valley Can Produce Fake Meat That Tastes Like Real Meat?". New York Magazine. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  36. Angle, Sara and Rachel Schultz (February 13, 2015). "Beyond Meat's High-Protein Veggie Burger Is the Best Thing to Ever Happen to Vegans". Shape Magazine. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  37. Joiner, James (January 15, 2015). "The Veggie Burgers With Meaty Ambition". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  38. Kowitt, Beth (18 December 2017). "Food Tech Startup Beyond Meat Is Rolling Out a Plant-Based Sausage". Fortune. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  39. Minton, Melissa (18 December 2017). "Beyond Meat Debuts First Plant-Based Sausage in Three Flavors". Bon Appetit. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  40. "Products, Beyond Meat, Inc". Beyond Meat, Inc. 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  41. C. Heller, Martin; A. Keoleian, Gregory. "Beyond Meat's Beyond Burger Life Cycle Assessment". umich.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  42. Fox, Katrina. "This Vegan Brand Just Proved That Plant-Based Burgers Are More Sustainable Than Those Made Of Beef". forbes.com. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  43. Raphael, Rina. "Inside Beyond Meat's innovative future food lab". fastcompany.com. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  44. Pomranz, Mike. "Beyond Meat's Massive New Lab Sounds Like Something Out of a Sci-Fi Novel". foodandwine.com. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  45. Starostinetskaya, Anna. "Beyond Meat Obtains Non-GMO Certification". vegnews.com. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  46. Lamb, Catherine. "In Earnings Call, Beyond Meat Claps Back Against Critiques that It's Too Processed". thespoon.tech. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  47. Beyond Meat Sued by Former Partner Don Lee Farms, Specialty Food News 03/11/2019, accessed April 25, 2019
  48. Hell Pizza escapes formal action over Beyond Meat stunt
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