Beyond Burger, the non-animal protein burger from El Segundo, California based Beyond Meat has found it’s own unique place in the grocery store, revolutionizing the way we see ‘meat.’ You may even be tempted to call it a veggie burger but don’t let Seth Goldman, Beyond Meat’s Executive Chairman hear that because they’ve worked too hard to be associated with “the bland, frozen veggie burgers that in no way resemble or mimic a real hamburger.”
Ethan Brown founded Beyond Meat to create ‘meat’ from plants. He has finally found a way to level the field when it comes to deciding on a burger. Their plant based burger looks, feels, smells and tastes just like a hamburger, it even has the same amount of protein but there’s no animal involved.
In 2015, Seth Goldman, Co- Founder and ‘Tea-EO’ Emeritus of Honest Tea, joined Beyond Meat as Executive Chairman and he’s taking his recipe for success with the beverage industry over to the meat industry.
Meat: Plant vs. Animal Protein
Beyond Meat seeks to redefine the way we think about meat. Goldman says, “For the past millennia we’ve always thought of meat as something from an animal but we’re saying let’s think of meat as the assembly of proteins, fats, lipids, carbohydrates and some minerals. All of these components exist in the plant kingdom and if we can reassemble them in a way that mimics the taste, texture and satiety of animal protein, why wouldn’t you consume that? While also overcoming some of the deficits of animal protein such as cholesterol or environmental footprint.” Beyond Meat has garnered a lot of press for their innovative plant based product line.
The Beyond Burger launched last year and Goldman says it’s is the most successful of Beyond Meat’s selections. “We got retailers to understand and think about meat differently by putting these directly in the meat department. The response has been phenomenal. Generally, the people who shop for protein in the freezer section are vegetarians and the goal for this is to reach beyond that immediate audience.”
Beyond Meat spends the bulk of its money on R&D. Goldman explains, “We’re investing millions of dollars into research and development. We have 15 PhD scientists involved, it’s real science. The cow patty has had many years to evolve, we’ve been at this just 5-6 years, so we’re leveraging science that has been around but commercialization of this is very early stage and we see improvements happening every quarter. We’re working with moisture, caramelization and the change of color, everything is on the table and we’re making an impact.”
He adds, “In order to change behavior, you have to have a product that wins; we have to get people willing to try it and then it has to deliver on the proposition. The Beyond Burger product has momentum like I’ve never seen. Honest Tea is now celebrating its 19th birthday, but there is a much faster receptivity for Beyond Burger. There is so much upside because protein is a big category, and you’d be hard pressed to meet someone who hasn’t been told by their doctor to cut back on red meat consumption. There are different dietary motivations for everybody; some people call themselves ‘climatarians,’ eating foods based on climate concerns and meat has a big environmental footprint. Other people have humane concerns about eating animals. But just as with Honest Tea, whether it was for the taste or cutting back on calories or a preference to be organic and support fair trade, there are different reasons that people will choose to purchase a product but it still has to deliver on many levels.”
Goldman Hears About Beyond Meat & Wants In
Goldman and his family have been vegetarians for 11 years and were often frustrated with the limited culinary options found in grocery stores. His wife was intrigued with an article she’d read about Beyond Meat and the goal to replicate meat. Goldman reached out to the company and expressed interest in learning more. Ethan Brown responded and soon after that, Goldman invested, joined the board and became Executive Chairman. He says, “It was the right time for me to get involved because while Honest Tea is still growing, it’s not an independent enterprise any longer like it was for the first 18 years. (Coca-Cola acquired it) Goldman splits his time between both companies and as an ‘empty nester’ couple he says, “Our kids have left the house, so it has freed up a lot of headspace for me to be fully engaged in both businesses.” He commutes between Southern California and Bethesda, Maryland, riding his bike to the office in both locations.
No Sacrifice Needed for Plant Protein Satisfaction
One of Beyond Meat’s goals is to “get American families to have one more plant based meal each week. But Goldman isn’t a fan of the popular ‘Meatless Monday’ idea that permeates Instagram on Mondays. He says, “We don’t use the term ‘meatless’ Monday because that suggests sacrifice. We eat meat on Monday- but it’s plant based meat.”
He adds, “If you’re not consuming animal protein, many people assume that you’re giving up something, but all of our products have same level of protein as an 80/20 hamburger, the typical burger sold in market, it actually has more iron. Absolutely no sacrifice.” They drive home this nutritional point by promoting athletes as brand ambassadors. “Many people in the company are vegan or vegetarian, but the athletes are not. The message isn’t that you have to be vegan, it’s about meeting your strength or performance needs with a more plant based diet.”
Mission Driven
Goldman is a mission driven entrepreneur and has gone to great lengths to support ethical and environmental causes with Honest Tea. Goldman adds that at Beyond Meat, “We put such a focus on making sure this product tastes looks and smells excellent. It has to meet all the criteria that an animal burger meets and it has to be competitive. Our message about sustainability is embedded in the product but we lead with taste. Our packaging initially had emphasis on the healthy aspect but we shifted to making it all about being delicious. And if they’re buying the product for taste, they are also inherently furthering the mission of sustainability.”
The marketing budget at Beyond Meat is similar to how it was at Honest Tea in the startup phase in that it doesn’t allow for a paid media campaign. Instead, they do a lot of sampling and utilize “buzz” from social media sharing. Goldman says, “When you have a product that is as different as Beyond Burger, people talk about it. It’s fun serving it to friends because it’s an eyebrow raiser, it’s something that nobody has ever had.”
Bringing in ‘Big Food’ Investor
Again, similar to Coca-Cola’s investment and then acquisition of Honest Tea, Goldman says, “This will be a big year for us scaling and reaching into new markets. One of the interesting dynamics is that we just took on Tyson Foods as an investor. What it really speaks to is that ‘big food’ recognizes that the market is changing, the consumer is changing and they also recognize that entrepreneurs are doing innovation in a way that they can’t. It also says that we have a way to scale now that is really profound. After taking an investment from Coca-Cola 9 years ago, Honest Tea has grown to ten times the size. It’s a great way to scale a business and make an impact. It’s easy on the activist side to think about enemy camps but I’m not thinking that way. I focus on having the greatest impact, most powerfully and the right way to scale, it makes you think about partners in a different way.”
Within the food and beverage space, companies are extremely dependent on distribution to get onto store shelves. Having the right partnership can bring that critical visibility. Goldman says, “With meat, whether it’s production or merchandising there are benefits to being associated with a meat company and we expect to learn a great deal from Tyson and they’ll learn from us as well. There’s an ownership stake but no path to acquisition so at the end of the day, if we go off and stay independent but Tyson has learned about the plant based protein niche, that’s still a good thing.”
Goldman’s Entrepreneurial Advice
For entrepreneurs with a product idea who want to learn more about Goldman’s journey to success, you can read the book he wrote with Honest Tea co-founder Barry Nalebuff, titled Mission in a Bottle. It’s written in a fun, comic book style and chock full of useful takeaways. Goldman says, “The book was our effort to share all the lessons and mistakes learned on our Honest Tea journey.”
Beyond Meat has just moved into a larger office facility and is poised to make this year a tipping point year for Americans to look at meat in a new way. Goldman’s entrepreneurial expertise and personal motivations for delicious vegetarian fare without sacrifice continue to serve Beyond Meat’s mission. I’m guessing that Seth Goldman enjoys washing down his burger with an Honest Tea. Sounds like a match made in entrepreneurial heaven.