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Beyond Meat<\/a> is dropping \u201cmeat\u201d 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.<\/p>\n The company, rebranded as Beyond The Plant Protein Co. \u2014 or simply Beyond on its packaging \u2014 changed its website and social media channels this week. Beyond introduced its first beverage, a sparkling protein drink<\/a> called Beyond Immerse, in January and plans to release a protein bar this summer.<\/p>\n The refresh could be critical for the brand. U.S. sales of plant-based alternatives<\/a> to meat are flagging and have dragged Beyond down with them. The company’s net revenue dropped 14% in the first nine months of 2025. Its shares have been trading below $1<\/a> since the start of this year.<\/p>\n “For me, it is an opportunity to reshape the company around very real food that is directly from plants,\u201d said Beyond President and CEO Ethan Brown, who founded the company in 2009. \u201cIt\u2019s about delivering all those benefits of the plant kingdom to the consumer in ways that they\u2019re going to be able to easily integrate it into their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond is not the only vegan food company making a pivot. Consumer demand for protein<\/a> is skyrocketing, and several companies are scrambling to serve up more plant-based options.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Chris Costagli, a food thought leader at NIQ, said plant-based brands have struggled<\/a> in recent years as customers scrutinized their labels and found unfamiliar ingredients, added sugars or high sodium content.<\/p>\n After peaking in 2020, U.S. retail sales of plant-based meat have plummeted, falling 26% over the last two years, according to NIQ.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of fillers and gums and texturizers and things that give those products a more familiar feel,\u201d Costagli said. \u201cI think as people have been paying closer and closer attention to what they\u2019re actually ingesting, it\u2019s causing some products to stumble.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a> could also boost plant-based meats.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what Beyond is betting. In 2024, it revamped its flagship burger<\/a> to make it healthier. Last summer, it introduced Beyond Ground, which contains just four ingredients \u2013 faba bean protein, potato protein, psyllium husk and water \u2013 and doesn\u2019t have the word \u201cmeat\u201d on its packaging.<\/p>\n Brown said the company will increasingly focus on products that showcase plants, like chickpea sausages or faba bean strips. Brown said Beyond wants to \u201ccelebrate the realness\u201d of its products and its simplified ingredients. He also hopes the new products will lead customers back to its plant-based meats.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully, 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?’\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s burgers and nuggets are found on McDonald\u2019s menus<\/a>.<\/p>\n Brown still believes plant-based meat will be a \u201cmuch more dominant choice\u201d over the next decade or two, but the company has to navigate what he calls \u201ca period of confusion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s just not the moment for plant-based meat right now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n