Beyond Meat rolls out plant-based steak in US groceries

Beyond Meat, the Los Angeles–based producer of plant-based meat substitutes, announced the debut of its revolutionary new product - Beyond Steak. The company released the “meatless” steak on Monday, Oct. 24.

Beyond Meat said that customers can now buy the new plant-based steak in grocery stores across the United States. In particular, this will be available at over 5,000 outlets, including Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, Sprouts, Ahold Delhaize, and other well-known local supermarkets.

According to CNBC, the meat alternative manufacturer’s release of this new product just marked the end of a tough month for the company. It went through a lot of things in recent weeks, and some of them were very controversial incidences, including the termination of Doug Ramsey as its chief operating officer after he was arrested for allegedly biting a man’s nose amid an altercation.

The company’s chief financial officer also stepped down and scrapped the chief growth officer role. Moreover, it had to lay off some workers, and about 19% of its workforce, or about 200 employees, are affected.

Then again, despite the mayhem, Beyond Meat continued to develop products and conduct testing for them. The company and Yum Brands’ Taco Bell teamed up for the trial run for Beyond Steak, which was used for the restaurant’s plant-based carne asada menu.

The test was made in Taco Bell store outlets in Dayton, Ohio. Apparently, it went well, and now, Beyond Meat is releasing its Beyond Steak product for everyone to try. This will be in grocery stores in 10-ounce packs of bite-size pieces and will be sold for $7.99.

Beyond Steak contains lower saturated fat content compared to regular beef steak. It has no cholesterol and uses faba bean protein as its base. One serving of this plant-based steak provides 21 grams of protein.

“Beyond Steak is a highly-anticipated expansion of our popular beef platform and we’re proud to introduce this innovative product to consumers nationwide,” Beyond Meat’s chief innovative officer, Dariush Ajami, said in a press release. “Beyond Steak delivers the taste and texture of sliced steak in a way that is better for both people and the planet.”