Beyond Meat wants to make plant-based accessible to all with its new value pack
Summer BBQ just got plant-ier... Plant-based meat icon Beyond Meat is expanding beyond the four-pack. The corona-crisis and a national meat shortage has won the alt-meat gang some bandwagon fans: Last week, sales of meat alternatives nearly tripled compared to the year before. And Beyond wants more in on the stay-at-home, food hoarding action:
- Meat the "Cookout Classic": That's the value pack of 10 meatless patties that Beyond just unveiled for $15.99. It's 8 patties stronger than its traditional, unhoardable 2-pack.
This is more than just Grill Season marketing... It's a pricing war with (literal) beef. The new value packs lower the price of Beyond meat per pound, narrowing the price gap with traditional (cheaper) beef patties:
- $12/pound: That's what's a 2-pack of Beyond patties sells for at Target. AKA "Beyond Budget."
- $5.26/pound: That's the price of real beef according to the Dep't of Agriculture.
- $6.40/pound: That's the plant-based poundage of Beyond's new value pack — aggressively narrowing the gap with beef.
- Beyond's goal: "Making plant based meat accessible to all." For a limited time only, of course — the value pack will only be available through summer.
Early adopters are not enough... Once your product gets its early fan base, you have to knock down barriers to go mainstream. Beyond is focused on the first one: price. It managed to turn a profit last quarter because its patties are so pricey. Now it's chasing growth by competing on price with beef and cheaper meat-substitutes like Morningstar. It may want to extend this beyond "limited time."