Beyond Meat

Founding

The company was founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown, who wanted to mitigate climate change.[11] Brown licensed technology from two University of Missouri professors, Fu-hung Hsieh and Harold Huff, who had been developing their meatless protein since the 1980s.[11][12]

Beyond Meat launched its first product, Beyond Chicken Strips (originally called "Chicken-Free Strips"),[13] at Whole Foods Market in 2012 and expanded nationally in 2013.[11][14] In 2014, Beyond Meat developed its first plant-based beef product, Beyond Beef Crumbles.[15] That same year, it announced that it had begun development of a new product emulating a beef burger.[5][16][17]

Financing

Between 2013 and 2016, the company received venture funding from GreatPoint Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Obvious Corporation, Bill Gates, Biz Stone, the Humane Society[18][19] and Tyson Foods.[20]

Tyson Foods purchased a 5% stake in Beyond Meat in October 2016 for an undisclosed amount,[21] but sold its entire stake in April 2019, ahead of the company's initial public offering.[22]

By 2018, Beyond Meat had raised US$72 million in venture financing.[23]

Celebrity and athlete investors included Leonardo DiCaprio, Jessica Chastain, Mark Rober, Snoop Dogg, Liza Koshy, Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, DeAndre Hopkins.[24][25][26]

In May 2019, Beyond Meat became a public company via an initial public offering on the Nasdaq, raising $240 million. It was the first plant-based meat alternative company to became a public company.[27] On the day of its IPO, the company's stock price surged 163%, the best-performing public offering by a major U.S. company since 2000, during the dot-com bubble.[28]

Layoffs

In October 2022, the company announced layoffs of 19% of its staff, or approximately 200 employees, due to revenue declines.[29]

In November 2023, Beyond Meat announced additional layoffs after a 9% decline in sales.[30]

In February 2025, the company halted operations in China and announced additional layoffs.[31] In August 2025, the company announced an additional 44 layoffs, or 6% of its workforce.[32]

Plant-based beef

Beyond Burger (2016–present)

In May 2016, Beyond Meat launched its signature product, the 'Beyond Burger' patty.[8][33]

In 2019, the company launched its 'Beyond Burger 2.0', which was a 'meatier' design with less saturated fat than the original product.[34][35] In 2021, this was followed by its 'Beyond Burger 3.0', which further reduced its fat and calorie content whilst maintaining the same amount of protein.[36][37]

In 2024, Beyond Meat changed its recipe to achieve a healthier 'Beyond Meat IV'. This updated recipe replaced the canola oil and coconut oil with avocado oil.[38][39]

Ingredients

The Beyond Burger patty is made from pea protein isolates, rice protein, red lentil protein, avocado oil, potato starch, pea starch, faba bean extract, apple extract, and pomegranate powder.[40][41] Its blood-color and ability to "bleed" comes from the addition of red beet juice.[42][43]

Patty variants

In 2023, Beyond introduced a 'smashable' version of their Beyond Burger patty, which is thinner and can be cooked quickly to make a smash burger.[44][45] That same year, the company also introduced a 'stackable' version of the patty.[46][47]

Beyond Mince (2021–present)

In 2021, the Beyond range in the UK expanded to include 'Beyond Mince;.[48]

Beyond Steak (2022–present)

In 2022, Beyond launched plant-based beefsteak slices called 'Beyond Steak', which are made mainly of fava bean protein.[49][50] TIME magazine named it as one of the Best Inventions of 2022.[51]

In 2025, Beyond added two new pre-seasoned flavours of Beyond Steak, chimichurri and Korean BBQ-style.[52][53]

Plant-based pork

Beyond Sausage (2017–present)

In December 2017, the company announced a plant-based pork sausage called 'Beyond Sausage'.[54] This launched the following year[55][56] and was named by TIME Magazine as one of the Best Inventions of 2018.[57]

The three flavours of Beyond Sausage are 'Brat' (bratwurst), 'Hot Italian', and 'Sweet Italian'.[58] They are made primarily of pea protein, rice, fava beans, potato starch, and coconut oil.[59]

Beyond Breakfast Sausage

In March 2020, Beyond released its ‘Beyond Breakfast Sausage’ patty in selected retail stores in the USA,[60] then to more retail stores in September 2020.[61] This was followed by the introduction of a sausage-links version in the USA in October 2020 and Canada in September 2021.[62][63]

Beyond Meatballs (2019–present)

'Beyond Meatballs', a plant-based alternative to traditional beef-and-pork meatballs, were first introduced at Subway in 2019 through the Beyond Meatball Marinara sub.[64] In September 2020, Beyond Meatballs were rolled out at select grocery stores across the U.S.[65]

Beyond Meatballs are made mainly of pea protein, rice protein, and seasoning.[66][67][68]

Plant-based chicken

Beyond Chicken Nuggets (2022–present)

In January 2022, 'Beyond Chicken Nuggets' were released in KFC stores across the USA.[69][70] This was expanded to retail in November 2022.[71][72]

Discontinued products

Chicken strips (2012–2019)

The company's first product, launched in 2012, was designed to emulate chicken and sold frozen. The product was licensed from Harold Huff and Fu-Hung Hsieh at the University of Missouri.[13] They were made from "soy powder, gluten-free flour, carrot fiber and other ingredients" which were mixed and fed into a food extrusion machine that cooks the mixture while forcing it through a specially designed mechanism that uses steam, pressure, and cold water to form the product's chicken-like texture.[13][73] Although praised by some celebrities, journalists who tasted it said the "likeness to real chicken was tolerable, at best", and the chicken product was discontinued in 2019.[13]

Beyond Meat Jerky (2022–2024)

In March 2022, Beyond Meat launched its jerky product in conjunction with PepsiCo. It was Beyond Meat's first shelf-stable product and came in original, teriyaki, and "hot & spicy" flavors.[74][75] Beyond Meat discontinued it in February 2024.[76]

Production locations

In the United States, Beyond Meat has several manufacturing facilities in the United States, including in Columbia, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.[94] In June 2018, Beyond Meat opened its second production facility in Columbia, Missouri, resulting in a three-fold increase of the company's manufacturing space.[95] In 2020, Beyond Meat acquired a manufacturing facility in Devault, Pennsylvania.[94] In 2018, Beyond Meat opened a 26000 sqft R&D lab in El Segundo, California.[96][97] In January 2021, Beyond Meat announced that it will be opening a new global headquarters in El Segundo, CA later that year. The company says the facility will house three to four times its current number of R&D team members once the campus is complete.[98]

In Europe, Beyond Meat has two facilities in the Netherlands: a co-manufacturing facility in Zoeterwoude owned and operated by Dutch company Zandbergen, and an owned facility in Enschede. These two facilities service the distribution network across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.[99]

In China, Beyond Meat operated an owned manufacturing plant in Jiaxing, Zhejiang. It is the company's first "end-to-end manufacturing facility" outside of the United States and began full-scale production in 2021.[100]

Supplier civil suit

In March 2019, a civil suit was filed against Beyond Meat by its former business partner and supplier, Don Lee Farms. This was prompted by Beyond Meat's switch to different suppliers in 2017, with whom Don Lee Farms alleged Beyond Meat then shared details about the manufacturing process.[101] Don Lee Farms alleged breach of contract, and further alleged that they had expressed "significant concerns" about food safety protocols for raw materials produced at Beyond Meat's facility which were then given to Don Lee Farms for further processing.[102] In 2022, the parties settled the dispute, with neither admitting liability or wrongdoing.[103][104]