Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line • Hacker News Board

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#81

Post by goosejuice » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC

markdown wrote: post #60

3rodents wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beyond Meat aren't unique, there are dozens of brands offering the same product. Tens of millions of people eat these type of products. Any (or most) burger-serving restaurant in Europe will have a Beyond Meat or equivalent on the menu. They're not always advertised as vegan (because of preparation and extras) but these fake burgers are very popular, for many reasons.

Fake? In my part of the world, a burger is a type of sandwhich, and the definition doesn't require meat. So it's a burger whether it contains beef, fish, chicken, a vegan patty, a large slice of tomato, or whatever.

What part of the world, and how recently? Sure a burger is a sandwich, likely being a spin off of Hamburg steak.

Given all sandwiches, what in your part of the world makes a sandwich a burger? I think for many of us it's a ground patty. If said patty isn't meat, yes we might say that is fake as in an imitation of the original. It's not a negative thing.

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#82

Post by Marsymars » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 10:48 PM UTC

Grimblewald wrote: post #11

I always wondered who their demographic was. The core early adopters, the ethical vegans, who actually like the taste of plants are never going to make a lab made ultra processed salt bomb their daily driver (never mind issues surrounding industrial agriculture). Health-conscious folks would take one look at the ingredient list and bail because of the heavy processing and industrial fillers. You've got bodybuilders a…

I actually like Beyond Meat patties, but I eat maybe a half-dozen "fake meat" burgers per year - that's not going to sustain a competitor when Americans eat an average of 3 beef burgers per week.

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#83

Post by AngryData » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 10:49 PM UTC

thewebguyd wrote: post #73

delecti wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The core early adopters, the ethical vegans, who actually like the taste of plants are never going to make a lab made ultra processed salt bomb their daily driver Why not? I think there's a false conflation of veganism and health food (and gluten-free, though that's not relevant in this discussion). I love burgers, and fried chicken, and crappy chicken nuggets, but I don't want more animals to have to suffer for my…

> IMO the core problem is that meat is so heavily subsidized that it's hard for them to compete. This is the real problem. Without all the government subsidies, a pound of ground beef would be closer to $30-$40 today instead of the $8-$10/lb it is now. $38 billion dollars in the US each year to subsidize meat and dairy, but only $17 million goes to fruit and vegetable farmers. It's completely backwards, especially co…

Im calling BS on the $30-$40 a pound beef because ive raised my own cows for personal consumption and even if I paid myself $20 an hour for every second I spent with my cows, and assumed my alfalfa field usage could produce an expensive cash crop without fertilizer, and completely ignored the opportunity loss of only caring for 1-2 cows instead of 30+, that is still a cost WAY above what my beef costs.

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#84

Post by goosejuice » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 10:51 PM UTC

carlosjobim wrote: post #8

Simulacra wrote: post #4

I don't think it was ever the moment, even though there has always been a market for plant-based foods, the company assumed that market was far larger than it ever was or will be.

100% of all people alive right now eat plant based food every day.

The market is clearly differentiated by animal tissue, specific ones in fact.

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#85

Post by n4r9 » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 10:52 PM UTC

thewebguyd wrote: post #72

legitster wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the opposite reaction. Beyond Meat is not a good product. It tastes gross. It's not as good as the meat it's comparing itself against, and it's not as good as the vegetarian options also available in the store, and it's more expensive than either. Anytime can "be the moment" for plant-based meat if the product technology was there, but it's not.

> it's not as good as the vegetarian options also available in the store I've tried the beyond burgers, they were alright taste wise, but yeah there's many other options for a protein source. Beyond Meat was never going to convince people to eat less meat by substituting it for fake burgers and steaks. For people that already eat vegetarian there already tastier sources of protein. Lentils, beans, quinoa, chickpeas,…

> Lentils, beans, quinoa, chickpeas, mushrooms, nuts & seeds, etc. All of those have much more flexibility

With that flexibility comes inconvenience. With fake meat burgers or sausages I just have to whack the oven on and boil some veg to go alongside. That's family dinner. With lentils I have to s think more about how to make it tasty for everyone.

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#86

Post by xethos » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 10:57 PM UTC

AngryData wrote: post #83

thewebguyd wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> IMO the core problem is that meat is so heavily subsidized that it's hard for them to compete. This is the real problem. Without all the government subsidies, a pound of ground beef would be closer to $30-$40 today instead of the $8-$10/lb it is now. $38 billion dollars in the US each year to subsidize meat and dairy, but only $17 million goes to fruit and vegetable farmers. It's completely backwards, especially co…

Im calling BS on the $30-$40 a pound beef because ive raised my own cows for personal consumption and even if I paid myself $20 an hour for every second I spent with my cows, and assumed my alfalfa field usage could produce an expensive cash crop without fertilizer, and completely ignored the opportunity loss of only caring for 1-2 cows instead of 30+, that is still a cost WAY above what my beef costs.

Without taking a side, you've skipped every step past the field here. Transportation, butchering, packaging, and grocery store shelves, with profit margins, health / sanitation checks, and shrinkage at every step

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#87

Post by khelavastr » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 11:03 PM UTC

They could have differentiated on quality instead of serving lower grade proteins and lipids

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#88

Post by dzhiurgis » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 11:10 PM UTC

3rodents wrote: post #7

I disagree with the idea that it's "not the moment for plant-based meat". Beyond Meat has a fantastic product that does very well in lots of markets. The problem is that Beyond Meat the company was valued as some sort of once in a generation radical reimagining of the way we eat. Beyond Meat's product is not going to change the world, it's just a good product. If Beyond Meat had grown organically, instead of raising…

[flagged]

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#89

Post by AngryData » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 11:45 PM UTC

midnitewarrior wrote: post #35

This is the moment, but they refuse to market the product in a way that is acceptable, (and adds affordability) to consumers. If they would do a 55/45 beef/plant-based meat blend and burgers, I think adoption rate would pick up significantly. Anybody who questions the taste is going to see that beef is the main ingredient. If the product comes in significantly cheaper than beef alone, more consumers will try it and l…

I mean if we were really concerned with lowering animal suffering we would be changing farming practices. Factory farming is only saving a small amount of the cost of beef over more traditional style cattle farming.

Nothing against mixing beef with plants and the like, but there are far easier ways to improve the welfare of cattle that only costs pennies.

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#90

Post by wolvoleo » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 11:54 PM UTC

mft_ wrote: post #74

thewebguyd wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's not as good as the vegetarian options also available in the store I've tried the beyond burgers, they were alright taste wise, but yeah there's many other options for a protein source. Beyond Meat was never going to convince people to eat less meat by substituting it for fake burgers and steaks. For people that already eat vegetarian there already tastier sources of protein. Lentils, beans, quinoa, chickpeas,…

I disagree. I’m ~97% vegetarian but there are a few foods for which traditional vegetarian alternatives are rubbish. One of these is the burger: you either get some odd veg/potato base pattie, a large grilled mushroom, or halloumi. The meat substitute burgers aren’t close to real beef burgers, but they’re far tastier than other vegetarian options.

This is where beyond is doing so well because their burgers really are a lot closer to the real thing.

They're a lot better than a crappy low quality beef burger even, like a McDonald's patty. Not quite as good as a real steakhouse burger, but kinda in between. There's another brand that's about as good, impossible burger. Probably a bit better even but I've never tried them side by side.

The soy and potato varieties yes they're way worse than even McDonald's. They're not even trying to simulate a real burger, just the idea of 'some fried gunk on a bun'. But yeah no.