Beyond Meat announced today that it has launched a new e-commerce site that allows consumers to buy the company’s plant-based beef and sausage products directly from the company.
The store is open to people in the contiguous U.S., and features two-day shipping for all orders. From the press announcement, items sold on the site include:
- Burgers & Beef Combo Pack – A carton of 10 Beyond Burger patties and two 1lb. packages of Beyond Beef ($54.99)
- Brats & Beef Combo Pack – A carton of 10 Beyond Sausage Original Brat links and two 1lb. packages of Beyond Beef ($59.99)
- Beef Bulk Pack – Six 1lb. packages of Beyond Beef ($71.99)
- Breakfast Sausage Variety Pack – One 22-count carton of Classic Beyond Breakfast Sausage and one 22-count carton of Spicy Beyond Breakfast Sausage ($54.99)
- Go Beyond Trial Pack – One package of Beyond Burgers (two 4oz patties), one package of Beyond Beef (1lb.), one package of Beyond Sausage Original Brat (four links) and one package of Classic Beyond Breakfast Sausage (six patties) ($49.99)
Beyond mentioned the new D2C channel in June, when it launched bulk packaging of its burgers, so today’s news is not surprising. Nor is it surprising in the broader, competitive context of the plant-based meat sector. Earlier this summer, Beyond’s big rival, Impossible Foods launched its own D2C channel through which it sells its own plant-based burgers in bulk.
The timing is right for both of these companies to go directly to consumers. Sales of plant-based meat have taken off during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has highlighted inequities and inefficiencies in our traditional meat supply chain. The pandemic has also pushed people into record levels of grocery e-commerce, so buying something like plant-based meat online no longer seems like a foreign concept for many.
In addition to this D2C rivalry, it has been an incredible active summer in for both Beyond and Impossible overall. Beyond Meat has done multiple deals with restaurant chains in China, and launched a second plant-based chicken pilot with KFC in California. For its part, Impossible has raised $200 million, vastly expanded its U.S. retail presence and launched its plant-based sausage in earnest to restaurants around the country.
While summer was certainly a hot time for plant-based meats, don’t expect things to cool off in the sector any time soon. Both companies are expanding their product lines and will continue to expand their retail footprints.
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