Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Beyond Meat

Alt-Meat, Fancy Wines, and Chili’s: Black Friday/Cyber Monday Direct-to-Consumer Deals

So far, 2020 has been the year of the direct-to-consumer boom when it comes to food and beverage products, with major CPGs, restaurants, plant-based meat companies, and others setting up their own e-commerce sites to better serve homebound customers.

It follows, then, that this year’s enormous crop of Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals is chock full of offers from these companies’ sites, along with deals for meals, booze, and even groceries. And since we’re all stuck at home this year and going out to shop on Friday seems like a terrible idea as far as the pandemic is concerned, here’s a rundown of some of our favorite e-commerce food and bev deals happening over the next few days.

All Beyond Meat products on the company’s newly launched direct-to-consumer e-commerce store will be 20 percent off from 6 a.m. EST to 11:59 p.m. PST on Cyber Monday, Nov. 30. Bonus: if you’re one of the first 500 orders, you get a free Beyond Meat apron.

DoorDash just launched a gifting feature on its app that lets users send a food gift to another person. From now through Black Friday, Nov. 27, every customer that gives a gift of $20 or more gets $10 off their next order on DoorDash or Caviar.

Meat subscription service Crowd Cow is offering 20 percent off on a variety of meats and fish you can order via the Crowd Cow website. At the moment, there’s a healthy variety of shrimp, crap, steak, ground beef, cod, halibut and more available, and the company is adding new items to the sale every day. 

If you’re curious about testing out a meal kit, now might be the time to do so. A number of services are offering Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals this year. A couple notables are HelloFresh, which will give you $90 off your first five boxes, and Hungryroot, which will will offer 30 percent off your first delivery of $99 and throw in a free pack of almond chickpea cookie dough.

For all you winos, plenty of online retailers and subscription services are offering deals on vino. First-time buyers on Winc get 50 percent off their first order. Usual wines has a 21 percent discount going on orders of 12 bottles or more. Vinebox, meanwhile, is offering a 20 percent discount off its 12 Nights of Wine package through Nov. 30.

BonBowl, which makes an induction cooktop and accompanying bowl, is running a $50 off sale on Black Friday for orders placed via the BonBowl website. If you need further convincing this is a good purchase, check my full review of the device.

Finally, restaurants, especially chains, are always offering deals, and Black Friday/Cyber Monday is no exception. The folks at Delish have a solid rundown of these deals, which include chains like Peet’s Coffee, McAlister’s Deli, and, of course, Chili’s. Because it’s not a holiday if Chili’s isn’t somehow involved.

Beyond Meat Launches Minced Pork Product in China

Beyond Meat debuted its new plant-based pork product made specifically for the Chinese market yesterday, according to a report in Green Queen. Called Beyond Pork, the new offering is minced and meant to be used in a variety of Asian dishes including dumplings, spring rolls and on ramen.

Beyond Pork will be available at a number of different Shanghai restaurants including Egg, RAC and Solo X for a limited time between now and November 24.

The unveiling of Beyond Pork comes just days after Beyond announced the next versions of its signature Beyond Meat burger patty here in the U.S. But it’s also just the latest in a series of moves the company has made to expand into China. The company has signed deals to get on the menus of Starbucks, KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut in China, as well as on retail shelves at Alibaba stores. More importantly, however, Beyond is building two production facilities in China (one of which is near Shanghai) that will go into full production next year.

But Beyond is going to be the away team in this particular game to get plant-based pork into the hands of Chinese consumers. Omnipork, which is operated by Hong Kong-based Green Monday, already has a number of plant-based pork products at market in China.

Plant-based pork is coming at an auspicious time. China is the world’s largest consumer of pork, but the country has been battling outbreaks of swine fever over the past two years reducing domestic herd counts and driving up prices. Plant-based meat products like those from Beyond and Omnipork can sidestep those issues.

Beyond Meat Launches Two New Versions of its Plant-Based Burger

Beyond Meat announced today two new iterations of its plant-based burger, with one version offering a more “meaty” experience and the other being a more nutritious version of it burger, according to the press release.

The new patties don’t have their own dedicated brand names, and in the press announcement are just described by their characteristics. One of the new patties, the juicier/meatier one, will have 35 percent less saturated fat than 80/20 beef. The other new burger, which is being billed as the Beyond’s most nutritious patty yet, will have 55 percent less saturated fat than 80/20 beef. Both new burgers will launch in “early 2021.”

Beyond hinted that this news was coming during its earnings report last week. On that call, Beyond CEO, Ethan Brown, said that its “Beyond Burger 3.0” would make the current version of Beyond “obsolete.”

As a quick aside, this use of “obsolete” is interesting. A little more than a year ago I wrote that as companies like Beyond and Impossible Foods continue to tweak their recipes, food was becoming more like software. From that piece:

The new version of Beyond Meat (and the sister product, Beyond Beef ground) is so much better than the first version. At least for meat eaters and flexitarians who were looking for something like meat, but less ethically and environmentally complicated. As Beyond and Impossible spend more on research and development, they will uncover new ingredients, new combinations and new manufacturing techniques to make their products even better and tastier.

The same can’t be said for traditional animal meat. Sure, there will be varying degrees of quality, but beef is going to always taste and feel like beef, chicken like chicken and pork like pork. The cow (or pig or chicken) is not going to become a different animal.

In other words, this new Beyond Burger 3.0 will one day too, become obsolete. And, there are chances that Beyond will develop the “New Coke” of burgers that people may not like as much. Something to keep an eye on, anyway.

Beyond has been on a product tear this year, debuting plant-based sausage patties, sausage links and meatballs. Oh, and it also helped McDonald’s create its new McPlant sandwich, though the exact details of that relationship remain cloudy.

The timing is certainly right for all these moves. Sales of plant-based meats are on the rise, and were pushed even higher thanks to the pandemic. As a result, both Beyond and Impossible have been in a bit of a back and forth throughout the year, releasing new products, launching D2C channels, vastly expanding at retail and growing internationally.

Given all the back-and-forth, will Impossible announce new iterations to its burgers? The year isn’t over yet…

Beyond Q3 Earnings: The Company ‘Co-Created’ the McPlant, Will Launch Version 3.0 of Its Burger

Despite disappointing Q3 earnings that saw stocks slide yesterday, plant-based protein heavyweight Beyond made a number of noteworthy announcements on its investor call, including a new iteration of the Beyond Burger, expanded distribution, and involvement with McDonald’s recently announced McPlant product line. 

Beyond posted earnings below analysts’ expectations, reporting $94.4 million in revenues versus the expected $132.8 million. The company attributed slower sales in retail and foodservice brought on at least in part by the pandemic. However, Beyond CEO Ethan Brown said on the call that it was important “not to interpret this near-term pandemic induced drop in activity as a weakening in our long-term value proposition in this critically important space.” 

To that end Beyond made a few announcements on the call around forthcoming products and distribution channels. The biggest of these — or at least the one that grabbed the most headlines — is the company’s involvement with McDonald’s new line of plant-based meat products. Mickey D’s did not mention Beyond in its announcement yesterday. However, when asked about McPlant on its earnings call, Beyond’s Brown said, “Our relationship with McDonald’s is good.” After further confusion, Beyond made the following statement today: 

“Beyond Meat and McDonald’s co-created the plant-based patty which will be available as part of their McPlant platform.”

Why McDonald’s left Beyond out of its initial announcement is unclear. Also unclear is whether Beyond will be McDonald’s supplier for plant-based products going forward.

Less mysterious are Beyond’s plans for retail distribution. On this week’s call, the company announced the Beyond Burger will be available at 7,000 CVS locations in the U.S. in 2021. Beyond Meatballs, a newer entrant to the product portfolio, will be available at 5,000 CVS stores next year. The company also just announced a nationwide partnership with Pizza Hut and, overseas, has successfully trialed products at KFC locations in China. Q3 also saw the launch of Beyond’s direct-to-consumer e-commerce site, following a similar move by the company’s chief rival, Impossible.

Finally, Brown said his company will launch “Beyond Burger 3.0” (he did not provide a time frame) and that Beyond wants to make the current version of its burger “obsolete.” 

None of this was enough to keep Beyond’s stocks from dropping 8 percent after market close yesterday, though Brown again emphasized the long-term value of his company and mentioned the global opportunity for plant-based meats.

That opportunity is certainly huge. Recent numbers put alternative protein investment so far for 2020 well above $1 billion, with plant-based proteins grabbing the bulk of that sum. Part of this can be attributed to the pandemic. But as FAIRR pointed out when it reported the $1-billion-plus investment figure, the pandemic was just “the straw on the camel’s back.” Our reliance on traditional animal proteins was under scrutiny well before COVID-19, which suggests long-term demand for plant-based proteins even after the pandemic is under control.

Record case numbers suggest that day won’t arrive for a while. In the meantime, Beyond will need to boost its performance across both retail and food service in the coming months to keep a competitive edge in a very crowded plant-based meat market.

Beyond Meat Serves Up New Sausage Links

Beyond Meat announced today the launch of its new plant-based Breakfast Sausage Links. The new breakfast food will be available a grocers nationwide starting this month and cost $5.99 for a package of eight links.

Plant-based meat sales have enjoyed a boom during this global pandemic. COVID-19 not only has people eating at home more, it’s also highlighted limitations and ethical problems with traditional animal meat production.

Beyond has certainly kept busy during the pandemic, rolling out a number of new products throughout the past seven months. The company debuted its sausage patties, repackaged its burgers into a bulk offering, launched a direct-to-consumer sales channel, kicked off another plant-based chicken pilot with KFC in southern California, and debuted a line of meatballs.

Not to be outdone, Beyond rival Impossible Foods has been busy as well launching its own sausage, it’s own D2C channel as vastly ramping up its retail presence.

As I’ve written before, I’m a big fan of the Beyond sausage patties (FWIW, the rest of my family scarfs them down as well). However, I’m a little more leery of something like a Beyond sausage link. I prefer Beyond products as part of something more than as a standalone item. So a sausage patty sandwich with egg and cheese is delicious. But Beyond’s bratwurst just on its own is… fine, though not my favorite. I’m curious to see if the links will change my mind.

Regardless, I find that I’m doing exactly what both Beyond and Impossible want: eating less meat. And as both companies continue to roll out a wider variety of products, I don’t think that I will be going back.

Food Tech News: Cryogenic Avocado Trees, Vegans Take Over Television

This Friday, I bring you news on freezing avocado trees for future generations, vegan food brands advertising on television, and plant-based seafood hitting the frozen food aisle of Walmart. Between avocados and vegan food, these news tidbits are a direct appeal to millennials. Now all I need is some food tech news about brunch.

Avocados can now be cryogenically frozen for the future

I am pleased to share that my descendants will now be able to experience avocado toast. Chris O’ Brien, a Ph.D. student at the University of Queensland in Australia was able to revive avocado plant cuttings that he froze at -320°F with liquid nitrogen. Avocado trees are susceptible to disease, pests, disasters, and climate change; this discovery is important because it may help ensure that we will have avocados for future generations. Beside avocado trees, other plants like potatoes, grapevines, apples, bananas, and berries have all been successfully frozen then revived using cryopreservation.

Vegan foods brands are advertising on T.V.

Big names in the plant-based space have started running T.V. advertisements this year. Beyond Meat ran its first television campaign in August during the Lakers vs. Jazz game, with actress Octavia Spencer as the narrator. The Meatless Farm showcased its pea protein meat alternatives in a tantalizing commercial that ran in the UK, and Dr. Praegers used vegetable superheroes to promote its veggie burgers.

Vegan food brands seem to also be expanding their advertisements off the television. In the past week, I have personally seen ads for OZO pop up on my computer, and cheeky Oatly ads on the side of bus stops.

Sophie’s Kitchen brings plant-based seafood to Walmart

Sophie’s Kitchen, which makes plant-based seafood, will launch in Walmart this month. The company’s frozen plant-based crab cakes and shrimp will be made available in 400 Walmart locations. Sophie’s Kitchen joins other vegan brands available at Walmart including Gardein, So Delicious, Beyond Meat, and Lightlife.

Beyond Meat Launches New Plant-Based Meatballs

Beyond Meat announced today that it has launched Beyond Meatballs, a new line of pre-formed and pre-seasoned plant-based meatballs that will be available at select grocers nationwide starting this week.

According to the press announcemt, Beyond’s new meatballs, which are derived from peas and brown rice have:

  • 19g of plant-based protein
  • 30 percent less saturated fat and sodium than leading brands of animal-based meatballs
  • No cholesterol, antibiotics or hormones

Beyond said this is the company’s third new retail product launch for this year, but really it’s more like two and a half. The company launched its plant-based sausage at retail in March, then launched its Cookout Classic in June, but the latter was really a bulk re-packaging of its existing burgers.

The addition of meatballs is more of a convenience play. Sure, you could make your own plant-based meatballs by forming them out of the ground Beyond Meat. But that takes more work. Having meatballs ready to go for a sandwich or spaghetti is a smart way to diversify your flexitarian menu-planning options.

Beyond’s announcement today also continues the rapid back and forth announcements that have gone on all summer long between Beyond and its main rival, Impossible Foods. As I wrote earlier, most of the announcements from the two plant-based giants have been about scale and not entirely new lines of products (i.e., new kinds of plant-based meat) and these Beyond Meatballs continue that trend.

The Beyond Meatballs will hit retailers such as Whole Foods, Stop & Shop, Kroger and Albertsons across the U.S. this week and continue rolling out through October. They will have a suggested retail price of $6.99 for 12 meatballs.

UPDATE: An earlier version of this post said that the meatballs would be available in early October.

Beyond Meat Will Build Production Facilities in China

Beyond Meat announced today that it will build two production facilities in China’s eastern province of Zhejiang, near Shanghai. According to a recent announcement from Beyond, this is the first time a fully plant-based, foreign company has expanded its facilities to China.

Beyond Meat already has roots in China; this year it launched its plant-based beef product in over 3,300 Starbucks throughout the country. Additionally, the company debuted a limited-time trial run of its plant-based burgers in several KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut franchises throughout China at the beginning of summer.

China’s meat supply chain was greatly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused mass shortages and price inflation. China is an animal protein-hungry country with a growing population, and disruptions in the meat supply chain open up an opportunity for Beyond Meat to offer its plant-based alternatives to the country. Beyond Meat will face competition from already established plant-based meat companies in China, Omnipork and Starfield among them.

China and the U.S. are not the only markets that Beyond Meat has penetrated. Earlier this summer, the company acquired a new production site and opened a co-manufacturing facility in the Netherlands. Additionally, Beyond Meat is available in major Canadian grocery stores and has also recently launched a direct-to-consumer e-commerce site (that only serves the U.S., however).

Demand for plant-based meat alternatives us certainly not limited to one area of the world. The global plant-based meat market is expected to grow to be worth 4.2 billion by 2021, and Beyond isn’t the only major player in plant-based proteins expanding internationally. Eat JUST has several global partnerships at work, and Impossible Foods just announced today it is expanding into Canada.

The future Beyond Meat facilities in China will produce plant-based beef, pork, and chicken alternatives under the Beyond Meat brand. The facilities are expected to reach full-scale production by early 2021.

The Beyond Meat Sausage Patty is Exactly What I Wanted

OK, look. I know this review of Beyond Meat’s Sausage patty isn’t exactly hot. The product debuted in at retail back in March (which is approximately 17 years ago in pandemic time). But! In my defense, it wasn’t available at my local grocer until recently.

Ironically, now that it is available at my local grocer, I skipped the store altogether and ordered it directly from Beyond Meat, which launched its own e-commerce site last week.

I took a bit of a chance ordering a product I hadn’t yet tried direct because you can only order in bulk from Beyond. So a few clicks and shipping days later, 44 frozen plant-based breakfast patties arrived at my door (complete with a Beyond-branded facemask) earlier this week.

A couple years back, when touring the Beyond HQ and R&D facility, I had actually tasted an early version of the sausage patty. I raved about it at the time and hoped that the final production version would live up to that fond memory.

It most certainly does.

The Beyond patties are smaller than what you’d find in a restaurant or QSR breakfast sandwich but in line with other frozen sausage patties available at the grocery store.

Beyond recommends cooking them on the stove or oven — not the microwave. I cooked mine in the June Oven, which doesn’t have an automated cook program for the Beyond patties yet (it has presets for the Beyond Burgers and Brats). While the patties came out nice and piping hot, next time I’ll use the stove or griddle to get a little more of a crust on the outside.

I threw some cheddar on the cooked patty and slid the whole thing onto an english muffin. Because the patty is on the small side, the muffin sort of engulfs and overwhelms the sausage. But that’s just a nit-pick. The important thing is the taste, and Beyond nails it.

The Beyond sausage patty has a rich, peppery, greasy (in the best way) taste, with the right texture and mouthfeel. I don’t think it would fool a meat eater, but I’m not sure it needs to. In addition to the straight patty, I can easily see grinding these up and using them to spice up other plant-based meat dishes.

While I may have been late to Beyond Sausage, I’m glad it’s finally in my freezer. The pandemic has highlighted and reinforced the ethical and labor issues around animal-based meat production, which makes me feel more at ease eating plant-based meats. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that they are also delicious.

Beyond Meat Now Sells Directly to Consumers

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.

Impossible, Brave Robot, Magic Spoon. Are We Near a Tipping Point for New Foods?

To borrow from Phil Collins, there is definitely something in the air when it comes to the food in our kitchens. While I don’t think we are fully there yet, it feels like we are the cusp of major changes to what we eat at home.

I got to thinking about this last week when I noticed my day started eating a bowl of Magic Spoon‘s “healthy” sugary cereal and ended with a few bites of Brave Robot’s non-animal flora-based ice cream.

Neither of these products existed little more than a year ago. Both sell direct to consumer. And both are new formulations of old standbys angling to replace existing products we currently stock in our cupboards.

Oh, and both are delicious.

They are also expensive. It’s $40 for four boxes of Magic Spoon and $58 for four pints of Brave Robot. That’s WAY too expensive to be mainstream right now. So even though my kitchen carries these items, I recognize that I am a very off to the side as an edge case.

It would be cliché to say that we’re in the first inning of this food tech game and that prices will come down as those companies scale up. Of course they will. The point of this post is that we aren’t in first inning any more.

In addition to new cereals and ice cream, my freezer is full of Impossible and Beyond plant-based meat, I drink oatmilk, I enjoy JUST egg products, I’ve become addicted to Pig Out plant-based pork rinds, and I’m anxiously awaiting the day Loca will sell its plant-based cheese online.

All of these products feel mature. They aren’t almost there, they’re here, and they have arrived at just the right time and they are at scale. Sales of plant-based foods were already growing before the pandemic, which added some rocket fuel to the mix. And now, these new foods don’t have to rely on traditional retail infrastructure to reach consumers. Brands can market on social media and sell directly through their own websites. Like Magic Spoon and Brave Robot, Impossible has its own sales channel, as does Pig Out and Beyond will soon be following suit.

This is good because consumers are getting used to buying their food online. The pandemic pushed people into record amounts of grocery e-commerce. And now that we’ve been doing it for months and formed new habits, the idea of buying food — especially non-produce items — online is almost second nature.

There is still a ways to go, I’d call this the end of the first quarter, and dominance perpetuates itself, so existing big CPG players will remain big (think: Oreos and Doritos and such). But looking at where we are now, the next generation of food products becoming our new normal is no longer against all odds (the superior Phil Collins song).

Wawa Goes Beyond Standard Convenience Store Fare With a Plant-Based Breakfast

Like most other types of food businesses, the convenience store is changing due to the pandemic, and that includes what’s on the menu when it comes to food. In line with that, today, convenience store chain Wawa announced a partnership with Beyond Meat to bring a plant-based breakfast option to its stores.

Dubbed the Sizzli Breakfast Sandwich, the new item will use Beyond’s Breakfast Sausage product. As of today, it’s available at 650 Wawa stores in the Mid-Atlantic region and will be available in all Florida stores from August 10 onward.

In certain parts of the country, namely the Mid-Atlantic, Wawa is practically iconic in the world of convenience store chains. But like many food businesses nowadays, it’s having to reinvent itself in the wake of changing consumer demands around healthy eating and massive shifts in how people get that food.

The chain already offers its “Wawa Your Way” menu, which offers healthier options and caters to various dietary needs/preferences (gluten-free, plant-based, etc.).

Adding a plant-based option to the menu is the obvious next step. Consumer demand for plant-based proteins has surged during the pandemic as ugly truths about the meat industry continue to come to light. The whole of the alternative protein category, including plant-based meat, is expected to grow to $17.9 billion by 2025.

But plant-based options isn’t the only change Wawa has introduced recently to meet new consumer behaviors. With more people staying at home, or just wary of mingling with strangers in public settings, the company has had to turn its attention to serving folks off-premises. Wawa struck a delivery deal with DoorDash in April, then launched curbside order and pickup in June. Just this week, the chain announced its first-ever drive-thru location, which will begin construction in August in Falls Township, PA.

Wawa’s announcements follow moves by other well-known convenience store chains to shift both their formats and products to meet the current times. 7-Eleven expanded delivery and introduced a new pickup feature in July. It too has a partnership with DoorDash. Over in Tokyo, Uber Eats is delivering food from Lawson Convenience stores. And let’s not forget cashierless checkout’s march into the convenience store realm, led by Zippin, Aramark, and others.

Wawa’s news from the week is further proof multiple intersections are happening right now between convenience stores, grocery stores, and restaurants, and between plant-based diets and traditional ones. Expect more of these lines to blur as the entire food industry continues changing at the pace of the pandemic.