Beyond Meat
An investor presentation that builds the case for a plant-based meat start-up.
- Sector
- Plant-based food
- Source
- Week 5 tutorial resources (Beyond Meat investor introduction; You Be the VC 6.1, Barringer and Ireland, 2018)
The case in brief
Beyond Meat makes meat directly from plants. Its pitch starts from a problem: many people want to eat less meat for reasons of health, animal welfare and the environment, but common substitutes such as tofu and bean burgers lack bite, chew, juiciness and flavour, so people drift back to meat. Its answer is to rebuild meat from its composition — protein, lipids, minerals and water — rather than its animal origin.
The products grew out of long research at the University of Missouri; the textbook pitch says more than 15 years by two scientists, Fu-Hung Hsieh and Harold Huff, while the company presentation says 10 years. The first line, Chicken-Free Strips, is gluten-free and free of cholesterol, trans and saturated fat, dairy, eggs, hormones and antibiotics.
The investor presentation assembles market evidence: taste is the main barrier to plant-based adoption; health drives interest; brand matters to young consumers. It positions the brand for “Conflicted Carnivores” with the promise “eat what you love”, reports that 93 percent of Beyond Burger buyers in conventional retail are meat buyers, and cites restaurant partners A&W and Carl’s Jr., athlete endorsements and a large social media following.
Key facts
- Founder and CEO
- Ethan Brown (tutor scorecard)
- Board additions
- Seth Goldman, founder of Honest Tea, as Executive Chairman; Don Thompson, former McDonald’s CEO (tutor scorecard)
- Demand evidence
- 70% of meat eaters substitute a non-meat protein at least once a week (Meatingplace, 2016, as cited in the presentation)
- Retail position
- Presented as the first and only plant-based brand shelved with meat
- Restaurant partner
- More than 4.4 million Beyond Famous Star burgers sold at Carl’s Jr.
Analysis through module theory
Product/service feasibility
The presentation directly addresses desirability (taste, texture, nutrition) and demand (survey data on substitution and willingness to pay more for health). This is the kind of evidence a feasibility analysis should gather.
Industry/target market feasibility
The core target is clear — Conflicted Carnivores reducing meat — yet the company admits it has not done a segmentation study. A careful reader would ask how large each segment really is.
Evidence quality
Figures in the two sources do not always agree: the pitch says animal agriculture causes about 14.5 percent of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, while the presentation shows 51 percent from a different source. Investors check such inconsistencies, and so do markers.
Discussion questions
- 1.Which pieces of evidence in the presentation most convince you that there is demand?
- 2.What would you want to know about the target market before investing?
- 3.How does the team’s make-up affect your view of the venture?
Takeaways
- A strong pitch pairs a clear problem with evidence of demand and a credible team.
- Cite sources for every figure and check that your figures are consistent.
- Admitting a gap, such as no segmentation study, invites the question of how you will close it.