Beyond Meat Rebounds in Revenue With Higher Prices, Targeting Both Premium and Budget Consumers
Beyond Meat reported a revenue rebound in the third quarter of 2024, marking its first sales increase since 2022.
The plant-based meat giant, based in El Segundo, California, attributed this 7.6% revenue uptick to price adjustments. Total revenue reached $81 million, slightly surpassing analysts’ predictions of $80.1 million, according to FactSet.
However, Beyond Meat’s shares dipped by nearly 6% in after-hours trading after the company projected its full-year revenue at $320 million to $330 million, hitting the lower end of its earlier forecast.
Strategy Shift: Higher Prices, Lower Volumes
Although Beyond Meat’s product volume sold dropped by 7%, it offset this with a 15.8% increase in revenue per pound.
President and CEO Ethan Brown said the company aims to position its newer offerings—like the lower-fat Beyond Sun Sausage featuring vegetables like bell peppers and spinach—as premium products.
This sausage, a healthy alternative rather than a direct meat substitute, represents a shift in Beyond Meat’s branding strategy.
“We haven’t abandoned our goal to make plant-based meat comparable in price to animal meat,” Brown said, noting that certain products already match animal meat prices for some large food-service clients.
Brown clarified the company’s approach: “I don’t think this is a case of Beyond Meat just deciding to become a niche brand going after affluent customers. It’s much more diverse than that, much more nuanced than that in our pricing.”
Mixed Performance in U.S. and International Markets
In the U.S., Beyond Meat saw a 6.6% decline in retail volume but a nearly 8% boost in food-service sales, bolstered by expansion at Panda Express. Outside the U.S., retail sales grew by 6%, though international food service sales dropped by 22%.
The company recently expanded into German retailers and introduced plant-based nuggets at McDonald’s locations in France, balancing regional variations in demand.
Beyond Meat has also cut costs and consolidated operations, which helped narrow its net loss to $26.6 million from last year’s $70.5 million, outperforming analyst expectations of a 48-cent per-share loss.
Brown emphasized the company’s long-term focus on cost reduction, stating that Beyond Meat achieved its lowest cost-per-pound in three years, as it continues to navigate the plant-based market with strategies catering to diverse consumer segments.
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