Beyond Meat drops the 'Meat' from its name as it pivots to plant-based drinks and snacks

Beyond CEO Ethan Brown, the company's founder, poses for a photo at his Beyond booth as the company is transitioning from Beyond Meat to just Beyond, to introduce a new line of sparkling plant‑protein drinks at the Natural Products Expo West 2026 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Beyond Meat is dropping “meat” from its name as it moves beyond the struggling market for plant-based burgers, sausages and tenders and expands into new categories like protein drinks.

The company, rebranded as Beyond The Plant Protein Co. — or simply Beyond on its packaging — changed its website and social media channels this week. Beyond introduced its first beverage, a sparkling protein drink called Beyond Immerse, in January and plans to release a protein bar this summer.

The refresh could be critical for the brand. U.S. sales of plant-based alternatives to meat are flagging and have dragged Beyond down with them. The company’s net revenue dropped 14 per cent in the first nine months of 2025. Its shares have been trading below US$1 since the start of this year.

“For me, it is an opportunity to reshape the company around very real food that is directly from plants,” said Beyond President and CEO Ethan Brown, who founded the company in 2009. “It’s about delivering all those benefits of the plant kingdom to the consumer in ways that they’re going to be able to easily integrate it into their lives.”

Beyond is not the only vegan food company making a pivot. Consumer demand for protein is skyrocketing, and several companies are scrambling to serve up more plant-based options.

Eat Just, which makes plant-based eggs, introduced a protein powder made with mung beans last spring. In January, Impossible Foods announced a partnership with Equii Foods to develop protein-packed breads and pastas. Silk, a plant-based dairy brand, also unveiled a protein drink in January.

Chris Costagli, a food thought leader at NIQ, said plant-based brands have struggled in recent years as customers scrutinized their labels and found unfamiliar ingredients, added sugars or high sodium content.

After peaking in 2020, U.S. retail sales of plant-based meat have plummeted, falling 26% over the last two years, according to NIQ.

“There’s a lot of fillers and gums and texturizers and things that give those products a more familiar feel,” Costagli said. “I think as people have been paying closer and closer attention to what they’re actually ingesting, it’s causing some products to stumble.”

Costagli said reformulating products to make them simpler and healthier has helped some brands in the plant-based dairy market. He thinks new products and recipes could also boost plant-based meats.

That’s what Beyond is betting. In 2024, it revamped its flagship burger to make it healthier. Last summer, it introduced Beyond Ground, which contains just four ingredients – faba bean protein, potato protein, psyllium husk and water – and doesn’t have the word “meat” on its packaging.

Brown said the company will increasingly focus on products that showcase plants, like chickpea sausages or faba bean strips. Brown said Beyond wants to “celebrate the realness” of its products and its simplified ingredients. He also hopes the new products will lead customers back to its plant-based meats.

“Hopefully, at some point people will say, ‘Wait a minute, how did we get here, where protein taken from red lentils, peas and brown rice and oil taken from avocado and mixed together into a burger is somehow not good for you?’” Brown said.

For now, new products like Beyond Ground and Beyond Immerse are only available online through a website the company has dubbed Beyond Test Kitchen. Brown said the company wants to to innovate and collect feedback quickly, but will eventually put its products in stores.

El Segundo, California-based Beyond will continue to make plant-based burgers, chicken and other products designed to mimic meat, Brown said. They remain popular in Europe, where Beyond’s burgers and nuggets are found on McDonald’s menus.

Brown still believes plant-based meat will be a “much more dominant choice” over the next decade or two, but the company has to navigate what he calls “a period of confusion.”

“It’s just not the moment for plant-based meat right now,” he said.

Dee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press