whileit waspushingintoBurgerKings.About10%ofthe
restaurantssurveyedtoldBloombergNewsthey’dswitched
toBeyond.ButImpossibledidn’tbelievetheshortagewas
causetoslowdown.“Weseethisasanurgent,short-term
problem,andwearequiteliterallyworking24/7tofixit,”
RachelKonrad,Impossible’schiefcommunicationsoffi-
cer,saidinJune.Sheaddsthatthecompanydoesn’tpri-
oritizechainsoverindependents.InlateJulythecompany
announcedthatit hadsucceeded,thankstoa partnership
withglobalfoodproducerOSIGroupthatwillletit quad-
rupleitsrateofproductionbytheendoftheyear.
Beyondhashaditsownshortages.Lastsummer,Beyond
BurgersranoutatCanadianfast-foodchainA&WRestaurants
Inc.,justascustomerswereflockingtobuythem.(Thedes-
peratesearchforanA&WBeyondBurgeris whatledceleb-
rityinvestorJessicaChastaintoinvestinthebrand.)But
thecompanysaysit’slearnedfromthepast.OnJune 12 it
announceda partnershipwithCanada’sTimHortons,put-
tingitssausagesinbreakfastsandwichesinalmost4,000
locations.Thestockjumped13%thatday.
Thatsameweek,FreebirdsWorldBurrito,a Texas-based
chain,hada messageonitswebsitelettingcustomersknow
it wouldbeoutofBeyondMeatproductsuntilJune17.Brown
insiststhehiccupwasa resultofthecompanypouringits
resourcesintoitsfreshproducts,suchastheburger;Freebird
usesthebeefcrumblefromthefrozenline.“Therewillbe
isolatedincidentsfromtimetotime,”theCEOsays.Beyond
hasbeenexpandingproductioncapacitysothatwhenthe
bigcustomercomes,thecompanywillbeready.
Astheplantproteinindustrygrows,stocksofingredients
will grow with it, though possibly with a lag.ForBeyond,
that means pea protein, which Brown says thecompanyhas
plenty of. “We took steps to make sure thatwehavecon-
tracts and supply in place to grow at the rateweexpectfor
2019 and beyond,” he said on the June call. Butpeasaren’t
his only option.
“Pea protein is an amazing resource for us.It workswell,
but there’s nothing particularly special aboutit,”Brown
says.“Therearesomanyotherstockswecanuse—mung
bean,brownrice,mustardseed,lentils.”Mungbeanis the
primaryingredientfortheegglesseggsmadebyJustInc.
The company extols the bean’s gelation, itsabilitytogeta
curdlike texture when it mixes with an oil suchascanola.
Impossible, meanwhile, uses American grown(andgeneti-
cally modified) soybeans.
Beyondhastheproductionadvantage,atleastfornow.
Thecompanyusesabout100,000squarefeetintwofacilities
inColumbia,Mo.,toproducethe“coreprotein-fatmatrix”
thatgetsturnedintoburgersandsausages.Itdoessome
patty-makingitself,butmostofthemixing,blending,and
patty-formingis donebya networkofco-packers,fiveasof
June, using machinery that’s nearly identicaltowhatbeef
processors use. Impossible has a single 68,000-square-foot
plant in Oakland running similar equipment 24 hours a day.
TherecentlyannouncedpartnershipwithOSIwillexpand
production,beginningintheMidwest.
Investorspointtoplant-basedmilkalternatives—a$1.8bil-
lionbusiness,accordingtoNielsen—topredictjusthowbig
theimitationmeatmarketcangrow.ButBarbStuckey,presi-
dentofMattson,a foodandbeveragedevelopmentcompany
inSiliconValley,usesit asanexampleofwhathappenswhen
demandoutstripsmanufacturingcapacity.Forherclients,
findinga co-packerfora plant-basedbeveragenowhappens
beforea productis fullydeveloped.“Wehavemultibillion-
dollarclientswhocan’tgetlinetime,”shesays.“Eventohave
a conversation,youneedtobeproducinghugequantities.”
Andjustasthealterna-milkmakershavebeenfendingoff
fightsfromBigDairyoverwhatgetstobelabeled“milk,”a
similardynamicis happeningwithalterna-meat.Legislationis
poppingupstatebystatetolimittheuseofwordslike“meat”
and“sausage”onproductsthatdon’tcomefromslaugh-
teredanimals.Litigationis testingwhetherMississippiand
Arkansaslawswillstandupincourt—andwhetherBeyond
willneedtorefrainfromputtingitsfullcompanyname,
“BeyondMeat,”onitspackaging.
Thecategory’sbiggerlong-termproblem,though,may
bethattheproductsarelesshealthythana lotofpeople
think.“Ifyoucomparea BeyondBurgertoa McDonald’s
QuarterPounderpatty,nutritionallyspeaking,it’sa wash,”
saysBonnieLiebman,directorofnutritionattheCenter
forScienceinthePublicInterest.Thehealthbenefitsofthe
BeyondBurger,if thereareany,wouldbeina possiblelack
of increased risks, such as for heart disease, cancer, and pre-
mature death, from red meat. But for a day-to-day dieter,
“they’re about comparable for calories and saturated fat.”
Consumers finally realizing that the health benefits are, at
best,marginalis “oneofthelargestriskswesee,”saysAntonio
Hernandez,oneoftheauthorsofa Barclaysreportpredict-
ingthesectorcouldreach$140billioninthenext 10 years
globally. Yet Beyond Burgers are marketed by celebrity ath-
letes, including basketball player Chris Paul. Brown says he
drew inspiration from the iconic Got Milk? ads; he wanted to
sendthesametypeofmessage—ifyoueatthis,you’llfeelbet-
ter,performbetter.“Awell-designedplantproteincanbea
superior protein,” says Brown, who’s tall and brawny and calls
himself a health nut. He says his burger is missing the choles-
terol and carcinogens that come with beef. If Carl’s Jr. wants
to load it up with extra mayo, that’s not his fault. “It’s really
about the consumer who’s coming in. We can’t control the
rest,” he says. “I eat mine with a lettuce wrap.”
If the health halo enjoyed by plant-based food is an illu-
sion, there’s still the green halo. “Sustainability is far higher
on the total value proposition,” says Thomas George, president
of Grizzle, an investment research company that focuses on
millennials. But ultimately, he says, a lot will depend on price.
“The biggest part embedded in the share price is that they can
eventually price cheaperthanbeef.If it canbeviewedas90%
as tasty as beef and30%cheaper,that’sthewatershedmoment
here.” <BW> �With LesliePatton, LydiaMulvany, and Josh Eidelson55Bloomberg Businessweek August 26, 2019