Beyond Drops ‘Meat’ From Name in Shift Toward Wider Plant-Based Platform

Beyond Meat, one of the most recognizable players in plant-based protein, is ditching the second half of its name to reframe itself from a meat alternative to a protein business, Fast Company reported this week.

The realignment was likely spurred by years of slumping sales, lawsuits and a general downturn in plant-based meat demand. In its first quarter 2025 earnings report, Beyond posted double-digit declines in U.S. retail and foodservice, with founder and CEO Ethan Brown calling the period “a particularly dark quarter.”

Once a leader in the plant-based sector, Beyond’s stock price has plummeted from $25 per share in its inital public offering in 2019 to a measly $3.25 per share as of July 30, 2025.

Brown has argued that misinformation being spread about the impacts of plant-based meat has stunted the company’s growth. Last year, the company introduced a series of educational marketing campaigns aimed at dispelling alleged consumer “misperceptions.” The plant-based meat maker also introduced Beyond IV, a reformulated product line using avocado oil that emphasizes the health benefits of less saturated fat.

Early iterations of Beyond’s products contained complex formulations and synthetic ingredients from which consumers are now shying away. Recognizing a push for clean, simple ingredients, Beyond is gearing up to launch a new product with just four ingredients: Beyond Ground. Crafted with fava beans, potato starch, water and psyllium husk, each serving contains 27 grams of plant-based protein – more than a serving of beef. The new product launch is part of Beyond’s shift to focus on “[serving] an occasion versus trying to mimic an animal,” Brown told Fast Company.

Other potential innovations could include lentil sausages or chickpea hot dogs, according to Brown. Beyond is also slated to go beyond (no pun intended) the meat case with a new center store product “totally unlike [the company’s] previous offerings.”

“Instead of thinking about a simple replacement for animal protein, what if you just thought about your daily consumption, and I started to replace as much of that as I could with plant protein, and form that I could?” said Brown.

While Beyond is choosing to distance itself from the meat category, rival Impossible Foods has doubled down on a “meatier” brand identity. At Expo West 2024, the company unveiled new packaging and branding centered around a bright red aesthetic intended to appeal to “the carnivorous cravings” of meat eaters across the full consumer spectrum.

Though many Americans have tried plant-based meat and expressed interest in the category, a minority of consumers purchase these products regularly, according to the Good Food Institute (GFI). Taste and price expectations play a large role in adoption, but benefits around health and nutrition are also important in motivating consumers to switch.

GFI identified six consumer segments in the addressable market, four of which demonstrate higher engagement with plant-based meat and believe it delivers unique benefits. These segments – ethical alternative seekers, health-conscious compromisers, nutrition-focused integrators and protein maximizers – represent the best near-term opportunity to increase plant-based meat consumption.

Even so, there are questions surrounding the term “plant-based” and which brands are built for longevity. Elly Truesdell, founder and managing partner at investment firm New Fare Partners, previously told Nosh the category faltered in the past by chasing a value proposition “the consumer never asked for.” The handful of brands that crafted unique offerings and built out proof of concept in the natural and conventional channels are the ones experiencing continued growth.

“The term ‘plant-based’ is being used less and less, both by shoppers and merchants. I’d expect the sub-category will be slowly transitioned out, if not eliminated, in the next year,” said Truesdell. “That’s not to say ‘plant-based’ won’t endure. The ones that do and the ones that continue to build loyal followings are built on fundamentals beyond being an alternative.”