Do you recall a few years ago when artificial lab-grown and plant-based meat was all the rage? People were predicting that the technology would soon be producing burgers and steaks that looked and tasted better than the real thing. (Rumors that most of those reports were secretly written by cows were never confirmed.) Restaurants were cropping up that specialized in only plant-based or laboratory-produced artificial meat. But that was then and this is now. The Associated Press is reporting that Beyond Meat, the company specializing in “meat” made from plants has reported a significant plunge in revenue. And by significant I mean more than 30 percent in a single quarter. This week their stock plummeted by nearly ten percent. So what happened? Did they sign a marketing deal with Dylan Mulvaney? No. People just aren’t ordering their products nearly as much these days.
Plant-based meat maker Beyond Meat said its revenue plunged 30.5% in the second quarter as consumer demand for its burgers, sausages and other products fell despite price cuts.
The El Segundo, California-based company lowered its full-year revenue forecast as a result. Beyond Meat now expects revenue between $360 million and $380 million for the year. That’s down from the $375 million to $415 million it forecast at the end of the first quarter.
Beyond Meat’s shares fell 8% in after-hours trading Monday.
It’s a shocking development to be sure, at least if you happen to be a Beyond Meat investor. For the rest of us, perhaps not so much. And it’s not as if nobody saw it coming. Back in 2019, Forbes predicted that plant-based meat stocks were going to crash sooner or later. Of course, their analysts were primarily looking at the fact that the first two competitors in the field – Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods – saw their stock shoot up more than 800 percent in four months and that as more competitors entered the field, the prices would have to come back down.
I’m sure that was part of the explanation initially, but not now after more than four years have gone by. So there must be another explanation. For one thing, the processes required to produce these unnatural nightmares are intensive and the resulting products are expensive. Plant-based meat costs, on average, twice as much as actual beef and four times as much as chicken. That’s particularly concerning from a business perspective during times of steadily rising inflation.
Questions have also been raised about the way this “food” is created. It’s more heavily processed than most other foods aside from true “junk food.” And it has way more sodium than actual meat, which is a concern for dieticians. The additives are problematic as well including things like added sugars, artificial coloring, and “bulking agents” like carrageenan and methylcellulose which remain controversial.
But even that’s not the end of the issue as far as I’m concerned. I’ve thought from the beginning that things like the Beyond Burger and the Impossible Burger were little more than fads. Who is the target market for products like this? If you are truly a vegan who believes that meat is evil, is driving climate change, or is just unhealthy, why would you go out of your way (and even pay more) to eat something that imitates meat? Shouldn’t you be happy with your salads and fruit cups and get on with your life?
And for the non-vegans, perhaps some of them just wanted to take a walk on the wild side when these products were first released. But I’m guessing that most of them quickly developed cravings that the plant-based “burgers” could not satisfy. Before long, your mind starts nudging you and reminding you that you really do like to eat meat. And that’s probably because you’re an omnivore and you were created to eat both plants and animals. If you don’t believe me, just check your dental records. You have both incisors and grinding molars, just like most successful omnivores.
There will probably be a niche market for these products for some time to come. We’re a funny society in that regard and the “meat versus meatless” debate has become highly politicized. But don’t expect your traditional sources of beef, chicken, pork, or sausage to disappear simply from a lack of consumer demand. (And let’s not forget about bacon!!!) The only way that will happen is if the climate cult can seize control of enough power to wipe out that agricultural sector. And they’re already trying to do it, being particularly successful in the Netherlands and other parts of Europe. They must be stopped.
