Posted on 11/22/2022 2:07:49 PM PST by nickcarraway
This week, Bloomberg surfaced photos from Beyond Meat’s Pennsylvania plant allegedly showing evidence of mold, listeria, and other food safety issues. Products from the plant tested positive for listeria 11 times between the second half of last year and the first half of this year, according to Bloomberg, and internal reports from the company reveal that substances such as wood, metal, and plastic have been found in food from the plant. ("The most recent Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture inspections of the facility (in March and September 2022) found no instances of nonconformance with regulations, and we remain in good standing with the Department," a Beyond Meat spokesperson said in a statement.)
For Beyond Meat, 2022 has been a series of stumbles—even preceding this one. As of the second quarter of this year, the company, which serves an array of meat substitutes like plant-based burgers, fake-meat chicken tenders, and vegetarian sausages mostly found in grocery stores, posted a net loss of $97.1 million. Its partnership with McDonald’s serving a plant-based burger tanked across the U.S. And, of course, who could forget its COO’s arrest and suspension after he bit a man’s nose? These can only mean one thing: The brand is firmly ensconced in its flop era.
How did the company, astronomically valued over $10 billion in 2019 after an incredibly successful public offering, come crashing down to earth so spectacularly?
At the root of the problem, it seems, are those slower than expected sales. Beyond Meat, which saw impressive growth over the pandemic, failed to meet this year's projected growth rate of 33%, despite releasing new products like Beyond Steak and a line of jerkies onto the market. The company winnowed down its workforce in August as a cost-cutting measure, and then laid off a further 19% of its workforce, amounting to 200 employees, in October.
In July, Beyond Meat’s buzzy collaboration with McDonald’s also ended after a six-month pilot program, with neither party announcing further plans to reintroduce the program. The fake meat burgers (called “McPlant”) were available in about 600 McDonald’s locations, and the partnership had put Beyond Meat in a position to reach a wide audience. But it seemed that American McDonald’s diners were not eager to try fake meat, and Beyond devotees, many of whom are vegan or vegetarian, were not excited by the prospect of spending their money at McDonald’s, a key player in the mass-meat market.
Plus, it wasn’t a boon to stock prices when Beyond Meat COO Doug Ramsey allegedly bit off a chunk of a man’s nose in September. Ramsey got into an argument in a parking garage (relatable) after a football game (understandable) and after punching through the back window of his victim’s car (as one does), he got into a physical altercation with the man, eventually biting off a piece of his nose. Ramsey was arrested and subsequently suspended from his role at Beyond.
Beyond Meat’s stock has plunged a staggering 83% in the past year, and its prospects, quite frankly, aren’t looking great. Experts suspect inflation has had an impact on the fake meat industry as shoppers have passed over brands like Beyond in favor of less expensive options, although a spokesperson for Impossible Foods told The New York Times that it is seeing “hypergrowth.”As investment research analyst David Trainer told Bloomberg, “[Beyond Meat] can’t make money selling their product, they sell it at a loss. And at the end of the day, if you can’t fix that, you’ve got no hope.”
In a competitive field, it’s hard to recover from as many consecutive scandals as Beyond Meat has seen in the last 12 months. But beyond the company’s prolonged public humiliation, consumers are realizing fake meats aren’t all that healthier than real meat, and, let’s face it, some feel pretty tepid about Beyond Meat’s taste. This is not to say that the fake meat industry can’t be a profitable one, but as the kinks are worked out, Beyond Meat could be a casualty of the shifting market.
Says somethingthat the leadership of this company is a cannibal.
The food is highly processed, with more fat than lean ground beef. The texture is awful. What's to like?
” But it seemed that American McDonald’s diners were not eager to try fake meat” One does not go to McDonald’s to “dine.”
I tried some out of curiosity once. It’s actually not bad, but it doesn’t exactly taste like meat. It contains no soy, but it’s greatly improved by adding soy sauce.
Won’t matter if the company suffers. The leftists will prop it up financially to make their point. I truly do envy their ability to circle the wagons. Conservatives would rather eat their own (no pun intended).
They want us to go beyond meat. Humans have eaten meat since there were humans. To go off meat is unnatural.
The only veggie burger I eat is from Morningstar Farms, their Chipotle Black Bean burger. Great texture, tastes great. Nothing else compares to it.
Lol. Liberals screw up everything. Their defining characteristic is incompetence. But this is to be expected of people who believe in fantasies. Just offer some neat sounding product that would exist only in some lefty’s wet dream and they will line up for it.
They wanted badly to believe in Beyond Meat’s lies. So any skeptic instantly becomes “evil”. Same with electric cars, solar and wind power, etc. All are chimeras but God help you if you don’t go along.
Meanwhile the charlatans are cleaning up.
Boy, when this stuff hit the market it seemed like it would take over the universe, especially with the vegan/veggie crowd. (which is YUGE)
But Impossible Burger is having a GREAT year: Revenue is up 70 percent this year.
I love real meat. I’m not opposed to the free market providing meat-like products. May the best product win.
I saw pictures of that and they said that out of a rating of 10 for terrible, they’d give it an 8.
After looking at those pictures, I’d give it an 11.
Apparently others may have discovered this too.
Food should taste good on its own.
If you have to amend it for it to taste good, then forget it.
That’s a great business model. I wonder who financed Beyond Meat for their startup. This is something that average investors should investigate before throwing their own money into a pit. It seems wokeness has taken over private equity firms. Sequoia Capital threw a boat load down the drain with their capitalization of FTX. I would be very suspicious of anything they invest in going forward. Wokeness and support of Democrats has replaced the need for due diligence.
I’ll entertain any wagers to support FR on the wave of failing insects for human consumption that will arise in the near future. Profit doesn’t matter to these people. It’s all about changing our behavior. (I ain’t changing one bit)
However, I fear that those plants will succumb to the same issues as Beyond Meat. In theory, keeping everything indoors can allow for greater cleanliness but it can also be a breeding ground for bacteria and viruses.
I think a lot of people make the mistake of assuming these patties are done up just like a regular hamburger. There’s a lot better ways to cook those.
“wood, metal, and plastic have been found in food”
Isn’t what they are made of?
Good
𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 (𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥).
Democrats circle the wagons. Republicans circle the firing squad.
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