If you’ve been tuned into the vegan movement for a while, a few things probably stick in your mind from the last few years. Back in 2016, for example, Ben & Jerry’s launched its first-ever vegan flavors, and in 2017, The Game Changers hit Netflix. In 2018, Beyond Meat launched a $100 million IPO, and many saw it as a sure sign that plant-based meat was on a rocketship trajectory.
It made sense: The Beyond Burger was in nearly 30,000 retailers across the US, and its international availability was growing, too. Some were asking: Is there really a need for beef anymore? Had we finally cracked the code to a meatless future?
It turns out it wasn’t that simple. In 2026, plant-based meat has its place, but it’s not quite the juggernaut some experts predicted it would be. SPINS data, for example, suggests that plant-based meat and seafood sales are declining in the US. And in 2025, dollar sales fell by 10 percent, while unit sales dropped by 11 percent. It’s not that people are spurning plant-based foods (the dairy-free milk market is thriving, and tofu sales are on the up), but the plant-based burger bubble may have burst.
Beyond
Maybe it’s market saturation (Beyond Meat is now competing with more affordable private labels, too) or concerns about ultra-processed foods, but the truth is: the once-hyped Beyond Burger just isn’t as exciting as it used to be. Beyond Meat, now known as Beyond, knows it. The declining sales and bankruptcy rumors were hard to miss. But it’s not giving up. Its solution? A rebrand as a drink company.
Wait, what?
Why Beyond is focusing on drinks now
When Beyond revealed it was launching Beyond Immerse, a line of fizzy protein drinks, earlier this year, the internet was a little confused. Many questioned why the brand was moving into this category when it had spent so long marketing itself as a vegan meat brand. “I wanted Beyond Bacon or Beyond Wings, but ok,” wrote one Instagram user at the time.
But it turns out Beyond knew what it was doing. CEO Ethan Brown said in a recent earnings call that the company had been behaving as “a beverage company in hiding,” and had pulled together a board of industry experts, including former Coca-Cola CFO Kathy Waller. The protein drinks aren’t going anywhere. This summer, Beyond Immerse will launch in stores across New York, following a successful trial period on Beyond’s e-commerce platform.
Beyond
Plant-based meat fans needn’t worry—Beyond is not giving up on its burgers. Beyond Immerse is just one part of a broader plan to bring customers back and introduce more people to its plant-based meat line.
Brown said, “I believe that introducing consumers to our brand and our foundational commitment to great taste, clean ingredients, and plant-based nutrition in less controversial applications, we will bring back many to the center of the plate.”
Time will tell if the strategy works, but Beyond isn’t alone in not giving up on plant-based meat. Many experts maintain there is still hope for the industry.
Speaking about the entire plant-based industry, Angela Flatland, the senior sales director of plant-based at SPINS, told VegNews earlier this year: “The early momentum and breakout years of high growth, followed by market maturation, mean that a reset and rebalancing is a normal trajectory for any new segment.”
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Charlotte is a VegNews editor and writer based in sunny Southsea on England's southern coast.
