Currently browsing posts about: Plant-based

I’ve been writing about Beyond Meat’s financial troubles since at least 2022, so the latest problems come as no surprise.

Beyond Meat, you will recall, makes plant-based meat alternatives: nutrition powerhouses, clean protein, fiber essential for the gut microbiome.

Recently, Beyond Meat announced that it would be moving into beverages—“a logical move—and not an admission of defeat—after another grim quarter.”

Grim quarter?  Indeed yes (thanks to Steve Zwick for sending)

As another commentator points out:

1. Beyond Meat has never made a profit.

2. Each $1 of product it sold in 2025 cost it $1.95 to make.

3. That’s a dramatic change since 2024, when each $1 of product it sold cost $1.32 to make.

4. It has $1.2 billion of accumulated losses on its balance sheet.

In the meantime, according to USDA, the per capita availability of red meat has increased by 10 pounds since 2014 and is now 105 pounds per capita per year or roughly a third of a pound a day for every man, woman, and baby in the country—and that’s for boneless.

We would all be healthier, and so would the planet, if we ate less red meat on average.  That was the point of developing plant-based alternatives; these were supposed to substitute for real meat.  Apparently, they don’t.

This means: If you want to reduce the impact of your diet on climate change, reduce your intake of red meat however works for you.

I know I just posted a bunch of these, but here are even more.

To understand what’s happening with alternative meats—both plant- and cell-based—it helps to remember that companies making these products are businesses funded by venture capitalists.

The European Union’s recent ban on using the term “meaty” to apply to these products could have major implications for sales.

In the U.S.

• Alt protein investors are tired of waiting – they want confidence in the future: As the initial hype dies down, investors in meat alternatives want a return on their investment… Read more
• Are we wrong about plant-based’s decline?  Some predict that plant-based growth could balloon in the coming decade… Read more
• Beyond Meat is now Beyond: The plant-based meat manufacturer has been diversifying for a while, but now it has fully rebranded… Read more

In the European Union

• EU ‘meaty’ names ban: What it means for the future of plant-based: Restrictions on naming may not be a disaster for meat alternatives… Read more
• EU ‘meaty’ names ban agreed, ‘burger’ and ‘sausage’ exempt: The ban will go ahead, but certain words will be allowed… Read more
• Does the EU ‘meaty’ names ban affect seafood? Many have speculated that the ban could impact products beyond analogues… Read more

Plant- and cell-based meats are not doing as well as expected, and the new dietary guidelines, pro-meat and anti-highly processed don’t help this cause much.  Here are some items I’ve collected lately on this topic.

• Does plant-based meat still dominate the meat-free sector? Meat alternatives are in trouble, but traditional plant-based and vegetarian foods will not necessarily replace them… Read more
• Cultivated meat’s casualties: who is failing and why?  Makers of cell-based meat are falling, fast. We round up who’s shutting up shop and why… Read more
• Plant-based meat isn’t dead, but it is in a reset: Plant-based meat faces a slowdown as price, foodservice strategy and manufacturing innovation shape the next phase for the sector… Read more
• What will it take to rebuild plant-based and cultivated meat?  As protein demand rises and consumers grow choosier, Good Food Institute Founder Bruce Friedrich outlines how plant-based and cultivated meat can move beyond hype and become investable, scalable industries… Listen now
• Meat alternatives are too niche – plant-based can do so much more: Meat mimicry shows little sign of broad appeal, yet plant-based foods have opportunities beyond it… Read more
• 5 ways to boost plant-based meat sales: Health claims may be an overlooked lever that could reignite plant-based meat demand, according to consumer research by the Good Food Institute… Read more  
• What’s driving the rise of hybrid meat? Industry is showing keen interest in the hybrid trend… Read more  [Hybrid combines plant-based with real meat]
• Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research: FFAR and GFI seek research to improve flavor of plant-based proteins: A new funding call from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) and the Good Food Institute (GFI) will support precompetitive academic research to reduce off-flavors and improve the sensory quality of plant-based and fermentation-derived protein ingredients.Read More
• Plant-based meat laws aren’t misleading, court rules: Court finds that requiring disclaimers like “does not contain meat” violates free speech, marking another victory for Tofurkey, Plant Based Foods Association and the Animal Legal Defense Fund… Read more

Comment

Alt-meat products comprise their own industry, one hard at work to make these products desirable, accessible, affordable, and acceptable.  Clearly, it has work to do on all counts.

Here’s my most recent collection of items about plant- and cell-based meats, in an effort to try to figure out what is happening with the market for these products.  Prospects are not as bright as they were at the height of this trend, but these product have considerable staying power.  Time will tell.

Trends

• Plant-based meat in 2026:  What’s next for the plant-based trend?… Read more
• Is plant-based dead – or evolving?  Plant-based brands are looking for new ways to lure in consumers after the category’s initial success… Read more

Successes

• Record 960% rise in alt protein patents signals industry rebound:  Major food and beverage manufacturers, including Nestlé and Unilever, are busily securing alt protein patents as sector grows… Read more  
• Why meat alternatives are landing with young people: Younger consumers are often more open to new technologies and less sceptical about ultra-processed foods… Read more  
• First-ever mycoprotein goes through novel food system successfully:  The Protein Brewery is celebrating a positive scientific opinion from Europe’s food safety agency. So when will its new mycoprotein ingredient hit the market?… Read more

Difficulties

• Nina Teicholz in the Wall Street Journal:  Meat Will Make America Healthy Again: Federal guidelines favor inferior plant-based protein.
• Is meat too cheap for plant-based to succeed?  The cost of meat production is not necessarily reflected in the end price…. Read more  
• Believer Meats ceases operations, but ‘setback’ does not mean cultivated meat sector is doomed, insist key players: “With an unlimited budget, you can rush to hit certain milestones—like building a full-scale production facility—but you risk putting the cart before the horse,” says one expert.

Regulation

• Cultivated meat guidance released in UK: 4 key takeaways: The UK has released its first guidelines on cultivated meat novel food applications… Read more

Every now and then I like to collect items on what’s going on in the plant-based food world.

These products have their ups and downs, with much inconsistency.

Here are some recent items demonstrating some of those inconsistencies.

• Almost all plant-based meat and dairy categories are down in 2025, Spins reports: Steep dollar and volume declines ripple across the plant-based meat market, while soy- and coconut-milk and shredded non-dairy cheese offer glimmers of hope amid slumping alt dairy sales… Read more
• Plant-based meat manufacturer freezes prices for year in tariff response:  Plant-based meat’s march to price parity hits a tariff wrinkle, as private label provides a growth opportunity for the slumping category… Read more
• What do consumers look for in plant-based proteins?  ‘People are really pivoting towards plant-centered foods and not trying to hide it as something else,’ according to the founder of Nourish, who also reports shoppers want complete proteins that are easy to digest… Watch now
• How can plant-based brands bridge the gap between innovation and adoption? As inflation continues to strain household budgets, consumers are zeroing in on grocery staples that offer clear nutritional and economic value, which often exclude plant-based foods… Read more
• Plant-based foods gain ground as consumer perceptions shift again: Perceptions of plant-based foods improve as brands invest in taste, texture and nutrition… Read more
• How plant-based dairy brands can address the quality and perception gap:  Improving consumer perception of plant-based dairy may start with better biosolutions… Read more
• Beyond Meat doubles down on plant-based chicken with Beyond Chicken Pieces:  Beyond Meat’s Chicken Pieces launched earlier this week in 1,900 Kroger stores nationwide… Read more
• Alt meat meltdown: Beyond Meat’s debt causes concern, Meati set for sale:   In a one-two punch to the plant-based meat market this week, Beyond Meat reports another bad quarter amid rising financial concerns, and Meati readies itself for sale… Read more
• Beyond the noise: Ethan Brown on plant-based meat’s next chapter”  With consumer skepticism around ingredient transparency, faltering retail momentum and backlash from the meat industry, the company finds itself at a crossroads – one it is determined to navigate with what CEO Ethan Brown calls “radical transparency.”… Read more

I’ve been collecting items on new and emerging food products.  Enjoy!

• Cow-less casein protein ‘first’ creates full cheese spectrum: A full spectrum of ‘cheeses’ can be made without cows, following the development of a casein that can self-assemble into micelles, the foundation for stretchy, protein-rich cheese alternatives…. Read more
• Are watermelon seeds the next breakthrough in plant-based milk?  Watermelon seed-based non-dairy beverage Milkish won “fan favorite” in the Fancy Face-Off pitch at the Winter Fancy Food Show – but can it win over retailers and shoppers?… Watch now
• Cell-cultured mouse “mousse” petfood headed for commercial release.  BioCraft Pet Nutrition has partnered with Prefera Petfood to commercialise a hypoallergenic, nutritionally complete cat food made almost entirely from cell-cultured mouse…. Read more 
• Cultivated dinosaur meat hits the market in food tech first: Hitting a major food tech milestone, scientists have developed and launched a range of products made from cultivated dinosaur meat… Read more
• Seaweed has an ocean of potential, but headwinds remain: Investment and climate are barriers for the seaweed to innovate and achieve all it can achieve… Read more
• Green Queen Better Meat secures U.S. patent for turning potato waste into mycoprotein The Better Meat Co has secured its sixth U.S. patent for a process that uses potato-processing waste to grow high-protein, high-fiber mycelium, offering a sustainable, nutrient-rich alternative to conventional meat. Read More

And then,

• How Coca-Cola is using Minute Maid to push into alcohol: The soda giant’s Red Tree Beverages subsidiary is making a bet that its vodka lemonade can help it gain a stronger foothold in booze.

It’s a brave new food world out there.  I wonder how cell-cultured dinosaur meat tastes…

Here’s a short collection of recent items on the plant-based food market.

• Plant-based watch: What’s the latest on plant-based in food and beverages: The plant-based industry has faced some serious difficulties in recent years. So, what’s next for animal-free foods and beverages. We bring you the latest…… Read mor

Plant-based products

• Is duckweed the next miracle plant protein?  Duckweed is far more than just a pond-dwelling plant. It’s a nutrient-dense, easy-to-produce alternative protein…. Read more
• Vegconomist Steakholder Foods advances 3D-printed eel with $250,000 grant installment:  Steakholder Foods has received a third payment of $250,000 from the Singapore-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation, bringing the total to $740,000 of a $1 million grant. This funding supports their development of 3D-printed plant-based eel, with recent advancements enhancing flavor and texture.Read More
• PPTI News Planteneers develops plant-based steak, bacon & ham: Plant-based specialist Planteneers and filling and portioning system manufacturer Handtmann have been collaborating to enable customers to offer plant-based steaks or filet strips with fine marbling and an authentic fibrous structure. The product range has now been expanded to include steak varieties, bacon, cooked ham, and carpaccio. Read More

Research

• Plant-based diet linked to good gut health: Could two of the biggest trends in the food and beverage sector be powerful allies? And what opportunities could this create for food and beverage manufacturers?… Read more
• ProVeg International’s latest research assessed 422 plant-based meat and 251 plant-based milk alternatives across 11 countries and spanning four continents. It found that most plant-based products outperformed their animal-based counterparts in terms of environmental impact, using less land and water while generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions.  Nutritionally, plant-based meat substitutes were found to contain less saturated fat and more fiber than traditional meats. However, salt content remains a concern…inconsistent fortification and high salt and sugar levels remain challenges for the industry.
• A multicriteria analysis of meat and milk alternatives from nutritional, health, environmental, and cost perspectives (PNAS 121 (50) e2319010121.  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2319010121): Unprocessed plant-based foods such as peas, soybeans, and beans performed best in our assessment across all domains. In comparison, processed plant-based products such as veggie burgers, traditional meat replacements such as tempeh, and plant milks were associated with less climate benefits and greater costs than unprocessed foods but still offered substantial environmental, health, and nutritional benefits compared to animal products.

Comment: There is clearly a market for such products and they certainly seem to provide environmental advantages.  Whether their taste and texture shortcomings will allow the market to expand significantly remains to be seen.

USDA and HHS have announced an update on the dietary guidelines process.

A quick recap: The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee released its report last year.  The agencies are responsible for writing the actual guidelines, based on that report or not.

The USDA Secretary, Brooke Rollins, writes:

Secretary [of HHS] Kennedy and I have a powerful, complementary role in this, and it starts with updating federal dietary guidance. We will make certain the 2025-2030 Guidelines are based on sound science, not political science. Gone are the days where leftist ideologies guide public policy.”

Leftist ideologies?  She has to be kidding.  Since when did leftist ideologies influence the dietary guidelines?

Oh.  Wait.  Silly me.  I get it.  She means meat. 

Plant-based = leftist ideology.

You don’t believe me?  See Nina Teicholz’s editorial in the Wall Street Journal:  Meat will make America Healthy Again.

Ms. Rollins and Mr. Kennedy should reject suggestions from an expert committee that the 2025-30 federal guidelines place an even greater emphasis on plant-based proteins and that they recommend “reducing intakes of red and processed meats.” As the Agriculture Department found in 2010, there is either “no relationship” or a “limited inconsistent” relationship between any protein type and chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Protein, sure.  But meat?  Consistent evidence for years indicates that people in industrialized countries would be healthier eating less meat and more plants.  Less does not necessarily mean none; it means less than currently consumed and a lot less in some cases.

If USDA and HHS are serious about Making Americans Healthier Again, they will revise the Dietary Guidelines according to the science.  In my view, that means advising eating less of ultra-processed foods, as well as meat.