The problem in a nutshell is their price point. It’s way, way too high and not competitive with similar products, which is why people aren’t buying it. If they can’t figure this out, then they probably don’t deserve to be in business.
Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries
131–140 of 1001 posts
Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries
#132I married a vegan, and I eat a lot of vegetarian food. (I also still eat plenty of meat, just not every day.) One extremely frustrating aspect of plant meat is that they tried to aggressively push out traditional veggie burgers on restaurant menus. A familiar refrain I've heard in restaurants in the last few years is "we used to have a nice veggie patty, but they replaced it with the beyond/incredible/whatever patty.…
I’m vegan, converted about four years ago so I ate meat for decades. I ate impossible burgers for a while after Burger King got them, because there is some nostalgia/novelty in going to a fast food joint. But I’ve realized that this weird food product leaves some kind of odd taste in my stomach, and not just from Burger King. I’m pretty over these fake beef burgers now, and would way rather have a black bean burger o…
I see you are being downvoted, but I know exactly what you mean. When I eat Impossible and especially Beyond burgers, my stomach feels slightly off. A bit of indigestion. I don't get this with typical veggie patties.
Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries
#133It really is not that complex to understand: You either love meat and won't touch these things with a 10 feet pole or you are vegetarian/vegan and usually take care of what you put in your body, meaning probably a limited amount of junk/processed food, meaning no fake meat substitutes. The market really isn't that big imho, there are already plenty of alternative to meat for most applications, which are cheaper, less…
FWIW, i'm a vegitarian. The reason i don't eat beyond/impossible is because the one time i tried it, it was lackluster. Nothing to do with health.
Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries
#134After having tried both Beyond and Impossible's offerings, I can't understand why anyone would buy Beyond. It's no surprise they are struggling
No soy?
Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries
#135The product is gross and unhealthy.
I also think that the anti-meat trend has peaked out. The people yakking about Soylent were yakking about fake meat, and their attention span is limited.
Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries
#136I'm a meat eater, but am a big fan of fake meats - to the point where I prefer them in some situations.
Overall I'm not a huge fan of Beyond Meat. While it does feel closer in taste to beef than impossible burgers, I heavily prefer the taste of impossible burgers to beyond. Impossible burgers have a stronger umami taste and tend to add to the experience. Beyond kinda just tastes like lower end beef to me. This means Beyond is facing a Coke vs Pepsi situation here - effectively halving their market.
From a price standpoint, they're more expensive than beef is. While economically this makes sense due to heavy beef subsidies around the world (the US spends $38 billion in subsidies - about $114 per person), it's still a heavy expense for consumers. This means despite being cheaper to make, they're still the more expensive option. This means they're a premium product, not an economic option.
When these are the factors at play, it really cuts down the market size. You're really only targeting people who prefer your version, are willing to pay a premium for a sub-par version of a burger while not choosing plenty of the other food options out there. IMO these plant based meats are really doomed to fail unless we stop subsidizing the beef industry. If they become an economically viable choice, they become an option for many more people. Right now they're too niche.
Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries
#137Had an Impossible Whopper today. Tastes very close to a real burger, but damn did it wreck my stomach.
Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries
#138After having tried both Beyond and Impossible's offerings, I can't understand why anyone would buy Beyond. It's no surprise they are struggling
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Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries
#139I married a vegan, and I eat a lot of vegetarian food. (I also still eat plenty of meat, just not every day.) One extremely frustrating aspect of plant meat is that they tried to aggressively push out traditional veggie burgers on restaurant menus. A familiar refrain I've heard in restaurants in the last few years is "we used to have a nice veggie patty, but they replaced it with the beyond/incredible/whatever patty.…
But I don’t want a veggie patty. I want a hamburger that doesn’t involve killing animals. Beyond/Impossible is close enough.
Understood that you dont;
But before Beyond/Impossible came, there used to be veggie patty that vegetarians enjoyed. And many of them have never tasted meat, and don't want to eat something that tastes like meat.
OP's point is that Beyond/Impossible replaced the veggie patty with a non-meat version of meat patty, instead of adding a new item in the menu.
Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries
#140I married a vegan, and I eat a lot of vegetarian food. (I also still eat plenty of meat, just not every day.) One extremely frustrating aspect of plant meat is that they tried to aggressively push out traditional veggie burgers on restaurant menus. A familiar refrain I've heard in restaurants in the last few years is "we used to have a nice veggie patty, but they replaced it with the beyond/incredible/whatever patty.…
The thing is BM (and others) aren't trying to create vega/vegetarian meat. They are trying to make meat in a sustainable way, so it has to taste more like beef/pork than chickpeas or tofu if they want to get the main market. They are still not there.
Non-animal protein has two main traditions that are quite different: on the one hand you have the tradition that since antiquity has avoided animal protein and don't try to imitate texture or flavor (say South India) and the other tradition which does not completely avoid animal protein and often complements animal protein with plant analogues ("temple food" with origin in China) These offerings sometimes try to come as close as possible to animal and fish protein in texture look and taste. It's the difference between your veggie burger and your impossible burger. One is not trying to be anything but itself the other one is attempting to pass for the other.
Sometimes it seems these BM and IF, etc., are trying to simultaneously cater to both customers at once. That will likely not work as they are different customers.