Beyond Meat’s new sparkling beverage will hit stores in New York this summer, while its Beyond Steak filet will be introduced to select retailers later in the year, said the firm after posting another grim set of quarterly figures.
The filet, made from wheat gluten and faba bean protein, is “gaining an enthusiastic following” from consumers buying it from the firm’s online test kitchen, CEO Ethan Brown told analysts on the earnings call Wednesday. “We expect to be able to bring this innovation to certain retail markets as production ramps up later this year.”
The Beyond Immerse beverages, which have also been test-launched direct to consumer, will be distributed in New York by leading nonalcoholic drinks distributor Big Geyser following a deal announced last month.
“We’re not going broad here,” added Brown, who described Beyond as “sort of a beverage company in hiding” with three drinks industry heavyweights on its board: former Coke CFO Kathy Waller, Honest Tea/Just Ice Tea founder Seth Goldman and Boston Beer founder Jim Koch.
He added: “The New York launch is very intentional. We want to go into that market with the best partner you can get. And that’s an example of how Seth was able to impact the business here. Big Geyser has been working with him for a very long time.”
The R&D team, meanwhile, has accumulated years of experience with plant proteins in a more challenging category (alt meat), he said: “We’ve developed many iterations since its initial conception, each more refined than the last, and I’m confident that as we launch in earnest across New York this summer, we are bringing a compelling product to market. It has gotten better and better.”
Beyond Immerse: protein, fiber, vitamins, electrolytes
The stevia- and monk fruit-sweetened beverages compete in “four distinct beverage categories… protein drinks, fiber drinks, vitamin drinks and electrolyte drinks,” said Brown.
“It’s not necessarily just a protein drink. It’s a system for people who want to tap into the tremendous nutritional benefits of plants in a really convenient way. So you’re getting 20 grams protein, seven grams of fiber, which is 25% of your daily value. You’re getting your antioxidants… and you’re getting electrolytes, something similar to what you get in a Gatorade.
“You’re getting all of these things without anything artificial, with a very limited ingredient list, a very clean ingredient list… and great taste.”
The marketing plan for the beverages will feature some well-known athletes and fitness enthusiasts and “spread out to the general population from there,” said Brown, who insisted that the move into beverages did not mark a “retreat” from the firm’s core plant-based meat business, which he said was stuck under a “cloud of misinformation.”
While Beyond Meat posted double digit sales declines in three of its four core channels, Brown said it had made significant progress on the operational front to reduce sourcing and logistics costs, exit less profitable lines, reduce inventory, and finalize plans to exit China.
Q1, 2026 by the numbers:
- Net revenue: -15.3% year over year (YoY) to $58.2 million, volumes -19.5%
- Net loss: $28.5 million
- Gross profit margin: 3.4%
- US retail revenue: -15.3% to $26.6 million; volumes -14.7%
- US foodservice revenue: -29.7% to $6.6 million; volumes -31.8%
- International retail revenue: +8.1% to $13.7 million; volumes +0.3%
- International foodservice revenue: -25.9% to $11.3 million; volumes -32.6%
- Outlook: Q2, 2026 net revenues are expected to be $60-65 million.
- Balance sheet: As of March 28, Beyond Meat had $206 million in cash and roughly $412 million in debt, including newly restructured convertible notes due in 2030.
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