Beyond Meat is dropping “meat” from its name as it moves beyond the struggling market for plant-based burgers, sausages and tenders and expands into new categories such as protein drinks.
The company, rebranded as Beyond The Plant Protein Co — or simply Beyond on its packaging — changed its website and social media channels this week.
Beyond introduced its first beverage, a sparkling protein drink called Beyond Immerse, in January and plans to release a protein bar this summer.
The refresh could be critical for the brand. US sales of plant-based alternatives to meat are flagging and have dragged Beyond down with them.
The company’s net revenue dropped 14 per cent in the first nine months of 2025. Its shares have been trading below $US1 ($A1.40) since the start of 2026.
“For me, it is an opportunity to reshape the company around very real food that is directly from plants,” said Beyond president and CEO Ethan Brown, who founded the company in 2009.
“It’s about delivering all those benefits of the plant kingdom to the consumer in ways that they’re going to be able to easily integrate it into their lives.”
Beyond is not the only vegan food company making a pivot. Consumer demand for protein is skyrocketing, and several companies are scrambling to serve up more plant-based options.
Chris Costagli, a food thought leader at NIQ, said plant-based brands had struggled as customers scrutinised labels and found unfamiliar ingredients, added sugars or high sodium content.
After peaking in 2020, US retail sales of plant-based meat have plummeted, falling 26 per cent over the past two years, according to NIQ.
“There’s a lot of fillers and gums and texturisers and things that give those products a more familiar feel,” Costagli said.
“I think as people have been paying closer and closer attention to what they’re actually ingesting, it’s causing some products to stumble.”
Costagli said reformulating products to make them simpler and healthier has helped some brands in the plant-based dairy market. He thinks new products and recipes could also boost plant-based meats.
That’s what Beyond is betting. In 2024, it revamped its flagship burger to make it healthier. It introduced Beyond Ground, which contains just four ingredients – faba bean protein, potato protein, psyllium husk and water – and doesn’t have the word “meat” on its packaging.
California-based Beyond would continue to make plant-based burgers, chicken and other products designed to mimic meat, Brown said.
They remain popular in Europe, where Beyond’s burgers and nuggets are found on McDonald’s menus.
Brown still believes plant-based meat will be a “much more dominant choice” over the next decade or two, but the company has to navigate what he calls “a period of confusion.”
“It’s just not the moment for plant-based meat right now,” he said.
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