Sales at vegan burger maker Beyond Meat fall by almost a third

Sales at the vegan burger maker Beyond Meat have slumped by almost a third as consumers shift away from pricey meat substitutes amid the cost of living crisis.

The US company, whose plant-based products include burgers that appear to bleed and imitations of sausages and meatballs, has cut its annual revenue forecast in the latest sign that the vegan food bubble is bursting.

Sweden’s Oatly, the Swiss food company Nestlé and the London-based Innocent Drinks, which is owned by Coca-Cola, are among those that have pulled vegan products from sale in the UK this year.

Beyond Meat, which has co-developed McDonald’s McPlant vegan burger, said sales fell 30.5% to $102.1m (£80m) in the quarter to 1 July, missing analysts’ expectations. Its net loss shrank to $53.5m from $97.1m a year earlier.

It said it had been hit by “softer demand in the plant-based meat category, high inflation, rising interest rates and ongoing concerns about the likelihood of a recession”. For example, the US trial run of the McPlant burger was cancelled last August but it is still on sale in the UK and Ireland.

The company’s chief executive, Ethan Brown, said the ambiguity around the health benefits of eating plant-based meat had held back sales.

“This change in perception is not without encouragement from interest groups who have succeeded in seeding doubt and fear around the ingredients and process used to create our and other plant-based meats,” he said.

“As we look to the future, we remain steadfast in our belief that plant-based meat, and Beyond Meat specifically, will play an important part of the global response to a climate crisis that appears to be rapidly intensifying, while also delivering health benefits to the individual consumer.”

Beyond Meat has been trialling price cuts to attract more customers by offering its core products at prices that are at or below their animal protein equivalent.

The company is now forecasting 2023 revenues between $360m and $380m, down from its previous estimate of $375m to $415m, and below last year’s revenues of $418.9m.

The business was founded in 2009 with the brand promise eat what you love. In 2019, Beyond Meat was valued at more than $10bn, more than Macy’s or Xerox, but its market value has since plummeted to $981m.