Beyond Meat looks to reinvent the meat cooler and turn it into the protein cooler

LAS VEGAS — Beyond Meat is disrupting the grocery business. Its executive chairman Seth Goldman says we need to re-imagine meat. Instead of thinking of animals like cows and chickens, we should be thinking of the protein and the actual ingredients instead.

That was the main message Goldman delivered at the 2019 Groceryshop conference on Monday morning inside The Venetian in Las Vegas.

“Consumers are really demanding choice,” Goldman explained. “They feel empowered to demand choice. All of this leads to the undoing of food. Simplicity of product where they can understand where the product is grown and sourced. Restaurants now talking about sourcing of every ingredient. They’re also responding to the re-doing of food.”

The company currently produces Beyond-branded ground beef, plant-based patties, and beef crumbles for making tacos. In addition, they make Beyond sausage in two varieties: original and hot Italian.

“The meat industry is the largest category of food with the least amount of choice,” the executive chairman said. “We really need to redefine what we think of as meat. If we define meat by its composition, we get a different answer. What happened previously is cows converted plants into meat. What if we leave the cow out of the equation? We can still make meat. The cow is standing still. It’s not evolving anymore.”

On August 27, the company did a product test to sell meatless chicken at a KFC restaurant in Atlanta. They served plant-based nuggets and boneless wings. The results were overwhelming. Cars were wrapped around the building and it was sold out in just five hours.

“Meat alternatives face a taste challenge,” he admitted. The first one was to develop the beyond burger that tastes like a burger. The second piece is where all of you come in, is getting the product merchandised in the meat section of a grocery store. When we were in the freezer section, we were only reaching 5 percent of the audience. When we got the meat case, we reached a much larger audience.”

In 2018, Beyond Meat commissioned the University of Michigan to compare and contrast the impact of plant-based protein and animal-based protein on the environment. The study examined greenhouse gas emissions, cumulative energy demand (energy use), water use, and land use. Click here to read the full report.

“Based on a comparative assessment of the current Beyond Burger production system with the 2017 beef LCA by Thoma et al, 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.”

-University of Michigan
Center for Sustainable Systems

Beyond Meat is definitely onto something. Their stock price (NASDAQ: BYND) is up 500 percent since its initial public offering on the stock market. It was listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange on May 1 at just $25 per share. Now, their stock is valued at more than $160 per share, as of Sept. 17, 2019.

“We make this product without genetically modified ingredients. Taste is still paramount. We’ve been accepted very quickly into retailers in the United States and Canada. It’s an incredible business opportunity. Consumer adoption is happening really quickly. It helps them live higher equality lives with lighter footprint on the earth.”

Look for Beyond Meat at most major retailers including Target, Wal-Mart, Albertson’s/Vons/Safeway and Meijer, among many others.

However, Beyond Meat will soon face stiff competition. Their main competitor, Impossible Foods, will begin selling plant-based meat in grocery stores very soon. In addition, Hormel Foods, Kellogg ‘s, Kroger-branded Simple Truth and Tyson Foods are also developing plant-based meats.

For more information about Beyond Meat, visit their official website at: https://www.beyondmeat.com/

Stay tuned for more coverage from 2019 Groceryshop…

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