Blog #3: Beyond Meat - Focusing on a Coherent Strategy to Compete Against the Meat Industry Giant

        Over the past decade, plant-based meat substitutes have been exponentially gaining traction in the United States, and on a global scale. For a relatively young industry, estimates project the market to continue to boom. In 2019, the plant-based meat market was estimated to be around $12.1 billion in value. Conservative projections through just 2025 estimate the market to see 15% compound annual growth rate, climbing to nearly $30 billion in value in that short amount of time.[1] As more and more fast food chains and grocery stores enter the market, growth potential appears to be limitless. Some reports go as far as to project the plant-based meat substitute industry to corner 10% of the larger $1.4 trillion meat industry within the next decade.[2]

In leveraging the growing demand amongst consumers for a more environmental, sustainable, animal-friendly and healthier meat alternative, many companies have been able to tap into the plant-based meat market; however, very few have been able to identify and focus on core competencies effectively enough to establish and maintain a dominant foothold in the market. One company that’s been successful in this endeavor is Beyond Meat Incorporated. In addition to being one of the longest tenured plant-based meat alternative companies, established back in 2009 prior to the modern-day plant-based meat alternative movement, Beyond Meat Inc. has held true to its core competencies to maintain the wealth of the market share.

Like Leinwand and Mainardi emphasize in The Coherence Premium[3], Beyond Meat Inc. was started with the end in mind – their strength would be in their ability to determine what they did better than competitors and leverage those competencies. Despite facing a lot of challenges as the market for plant-based meat continues to grow, the company remains true to their core capabilities: 1) create and maintain a superior product that is scientifically backed; 2) establish partnerships to increase availability of product; and 3) provide a product that leverages consumer concerns surrounding environment, sustainability, health and animal cruelty.

Despite being more expensive, Beyond Meat Inc. prides itself in providing a superior product, in both taste and nutritional value (e.g. lower sodium, higher protein). The company’s commitment to driving down the environmental toll that meat production is having is another attractive aspect of their product. A study at the University of Michigan revealed that, compared to an animal-based product, Beyond Meat products are made with 99% less water, 93% less land, 90% less GreenHouse gas emissions, and 46% less energy.[4] Partnering companies, such as Target, Whole Foods, Carl’s Jr. and Dunkin’ are exploiting consumer conscientiousness by stocking their shelves with the plant-based meat substitute. Moving into the future, Beyond Meat Inc. will have to look to drive down costs as competitors enter into the market with cheaper and cheaper similar products in order to stay relevant. 

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[1] Markets and Markets. Plant-based Meat Market Analysis Report. (May 2020)

[2] Kate Taylor. Business Insider. 3 Factors Are Driving the Plant-based Meat Revolution as Analysts Predict Companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods Could Explode into a $140 Billion Industry. 19 May 2020.

[3] Paul Leinwand and Cesare Mainardi, The Coherence Premium. Harvard Business Review, (June 2010)

[4] Martin Heller and Gregory Keoleian. University of Michigan Center for Sustainable Systems. Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger Life Cycle Assessment. (Sep 2018)