Key Takeaways:
- Beyond Meat is planning to reduce its North American workforce by approximately 6%, which amounts to about 44 employees, as the company faces challenges in the plant-based food market.
- The California-based company anticipates incurring a one-time charge of $800,000 to $1.3 million due to the reduction in staffing and has appointed an interim chief transformation officer to oversee restructuring efforts.
- The plant-based meat industry is experiencing a decline in consumer interest, with economic uncertainty and concerns about processed products leading consumers to opt for cheaper animal-based alternatives.
Insights:
Beyond Meat reported a significant decline in revenue during the second quarter of the year, with a 19.6% year-over-year drop to $75 million. The company’s net loss improved slightly to $33.2 million.
CEO Ethan Brown expressed disappointment in the company’s performance, attributing the decline to weak U.S. retail and international foodservice markets. Revenue from U.S. retail decreased by 26.7% to $32.9 million, while international foodservice revenue fell by 25.8% to $15.1 million.
In response to the challenges, Beyond Meat is focusing on reducing operating expenses, expanding distribution of core products, and investing in profit margin enhancement initiatives. John Boken from AlixPartners will lead the company’s transformation efforts.
The workforce reductions at Beyond Meat reflect the broader downturn in the plant-based meat industry. Despite higher sales compared to a decade ago, recent years have seen a decline in plant-based meat sales, with Beyond Meat and other companies making job cuts.
According to The Good Food Institute, sales of plant-based meat and seafood in 2024 decreased by 7% to $1.2 billion, with unit sales dropping by 11%.