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Beyond Burger’s clean-label recipe revamp

Following annual revenue and profit losses, plant-based leader Beyond Burger has updated its ingredient list, adding avocado oil for a healthier fat profile and removing “unnecessary” ingredients.

Beyond Meat has changed its ingredient list. Launching its Beyond IV Platform, the plant-based meat leader announced the fourth iteration of Beyond Burger and Beyond Beef.

“Beyond IV represents a transformative step forward in delivering plant-based nutrition to the consumer in the form of meat,” says Ethan Brown, founder & CEO of Beyond Meat.

Highlighting how the recipe revamps represent “significant advancements” in taste, health, and clean label, the company’s move comes at a time when interest in the role food processing plays in a product’s health credentials is prominent.

With its reformulation, Beyond Meat sought to update its meat alternative products to maximise the positive benefits of plant-based foods. As part of its research and development (R&D) phase, the company says it worked with medical and nutrition experts to meet the standards of top health organisations.

The new products’ nutritional profile aims to capture consumer demands for high-quality protein, good fats, fibre, and key nutrients. Putting taste and health at the forefront of its new platform, Beyond Burger’s new products aim to offer delicious flavour and deliver important nutritional benefits.

Updated ingredients list

Beyond Meat’s latest product generation, marking the fourth in its history, contains 21g of protein from peas, brown rice, red lentils, and faba beans, which are identified as rich in nutrients and represent more protein than 80/20 beef. Its new formulation also contains 2g of saturated fat per serving, indicating 75% less saturated fat than 80/20 beef.

The company’s most recent plant-based meat alternative iteration is made with avocado oil, designed to provide heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. Adding avocado oil in its recipe helped the plant-based manufacturer lower its products’ saturated fat levels by 60% to 2g per serving, compared to the previous version available in US retail.

The new product formulation also contains 20% less sodium than the previous version, no cholesterol, no added antibiotics or hormones and no genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Beyond Meat says. Beyond Meat’s new formulation also indicates a simplified ingredient list to reflect the favourability of transparent ingredient lists and remove unnecessary ingredients.

Sales environment

Beyond Meat has seen a 7.8% year-over-year decrease in net revenue, hitting $73.7 million (€68.1 million) in 2023, recent financial results from the company’s fourth quarter and full year ending 31st December 2023 show. The plant-based company’s gross profit was at a loss of $83.9 million (€77.5 million), or a gross margin of -113.8%, compared to a loss of $2.9 million (€2.7 million), or a gross margin of -3.7% in the same period a year ago.

The new formulation was part of the company’s 2024 plan, Brown said, when the company released its financial results: “A years-in-the-making core platform renovation in Beyond IV that delivers superior health benefits and taste”. Along with other initiatives to improve its balance sheet, Brown believes this will “strengthen our near-term operations as we pursue our vision of being the global protein company of the future”.

The company’s new Beyond Burger and Beyond Beef products will be available exclusively at retailers across the US market from Spring 2024.

Recent processed ingredients research

A Good Food Institute (GFI) Europe report indicates that plant-based meat in Europe provides a good nutritional profile on average, offering a range of potential health benefits.

^{© AdobeStock/Robert Kneschke}

“Our recent Plant-Based Meat And Nutrition report, reviewed by food scientists and health experts, outlines how researchers are pioneering new and improved processing techniques that can enhance the nutrients in these foods and help improve taste to make products more appealing,” Seren Kell, senior science and technology manager at nonprofit and think tank the Good Food Institute (GFI) Europe, told Ingredients Network.

The report includes ongoing research into improving plant-based food’s nutritional content. Giant Leaps and the Smart Protein Project are two initiatives, funded by Horizon Europe, that conduct research into various aspects of protein diversification, nutrition in particular. Their research aims to understand and address key issues like micronutrient and protein bioavailability. Research at the University of Wageningen is also exploring ways to optimise the development of protein isolates that preserve key nutritional elements and also improve efficiency.

“With the growing burden of diet-related ill health increasingly on the agenda – and many consumers opting for plant-based options for health reasons – it’s great to see the food industry and leading universities investing heavily in unlocking the nutritional potential of plant-based products,” Helen Breewood, research and resource manager at GFI Europe, told Ingredients Network.

Beyond Meat’s new formulation reflects GFI’s observation that, as of late 2023, some of these new products were beginning to enter the market, a trend expected to continue throughout 2024.

“Beyond Meat's announcement demonstrates how businesses are responding to consumer expectations as the plant-based sector continues to evolve, and we hope this development will accelerate the growing trend of companies launching next-generation sustainable products with healthy ingredients and a stronger focus on nutrition,” Breewood adds.