Beyond Meat Revamps Breakfast Sausage Line With Less Protein & Much Lower Saturated Fat

Beyond Meat has reformulated its breakfast sausage lineup with avocado oil, cutting saturated fat content by 89% and, in some cases, protein by 36%.

Amid its expansion into drinks and other categories, plant-based pioneer Beyond Meat had reaffirmed its core focus on meat alternatives in an interview with Green Queen last month.

True to that, the company has now unveiled the latest products born out of the Beyond IV platform it introduced two years ago, which swaps out coconut and canola oils for avocado oil.

After revamping its beef mince, burgers and sausages, the latest products to get the Beyond IV treatment are the firm’s breakfast sausages, which now feature certification from the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Heart-Check programme.

The headline benefit of the new sausage links and patties is the saturated fat level, which represents a 89% reduction from the previous iteration of the breakfast lineup, going from 4.5g to just 0.5g per serving.

Heightened saturated fat intake is a primary driver of heart disease, the leading cause of death in the US. It’s why the AHA certification is on the front of the products’ packaging – the association’s latest dietary guidelines have called for a transition away from meat towards plant-based proteins, in direct contradiction to the Trump administration’s national recommendations.

The launch follows the most challenging year for Beyond Meat as a public company, which saw sales fall to its lowest annual total in 2025, spurring a rebrand to Beyond The Plant Protein Company and a move into product segments that don’t intend to mimic meat, like the Beyond Immerse line of sparkling protein drinks.

Beyond Meat’s breakfast sausages offer a much healthier alternative

Beyond’s three-strong lineup of breakfast products includes patties in original and spicy flavours, and sausage links. They come in larger pack sizes, and have been launched in leading supermarkets like Kroger and Sprouts Farmers Market, with a Whole Foods Market rollout to come soon.

The breakfast sausage links contain 9g of protein per serving, an improvement from the 7g available in the previous iteration. It aligns with one of the company’s driving factors behind the launch: the elevated demand for protein among US consumers.

It cited data from the International Food Information Council to point out how 70% of Americans are actively trying to eat more protein, and 44% are prioritising this nutrient at breakfast.

However, despite delivering a win on the saturated fat front, the new breakfast sausage patties have less protein than their predecessors, falling from 11g per serving to 7g now.

That said, the rejigged breakfast lineup still delivers several wins over conventional breakfast sausages, namely zero cholesterol and a fraction of the saturated fat content, as well as 45-58% lower sodium content (an improvement from its older recipe).

Plus, as with most of Beyond’s lineup, the products carry certification from the Clean Label Project, a mark focused on screening for harmful environmental toxins (such as heavy metals, pesticides, and plasticisers) and ensuring high ingredient quality.

This will also help Beyond navigate concerns around ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which 79% of Americans feel are a “significant threat” to public health. The AHA itself has previously stated that some UPFs can be good for you, namechecking plant-based meat alternatives that are low in salt, sugar and saturated fat, like these reformulated breakfast sausages.

Beyond Meat focused on clean ingredients and health narrative

“We’re thrilled to bring our new Beyond Breakfast Sausage lineup to retailers nationwide, giving consumers more opportunities to fuel their bodies with these Clean Label Project Certified products,” said Beyond Meat founder and CEO Ethan Brown.

“By combining great taste with thoughtfully chosen ingredients, we’re making it easier than ever to start your day with Beyond,” he added.

It follows a year when Beyond’s share price fell to an all-time low, leading the company to become a meme stock, deny rumours of bankruptcy, and receive a delisting warning from Nasdaq. In 2025, its revenues fell by 16.5% to $275.5M, with an 82% decline in gross profit and operating losses more than doubling to $332.7M.

To usher a turnaround in its fortunes, Beyond has initiated a full-scale rebrand, evolving beyond just meat alternatives with new products like a fava bean mince that doesn’t intend to mimic animal protein, and the Beyond Immerse range, which sold out quickly in the initial drop.

“I believe that no company has innovated with plants under more scrutiny than Beyond ever. We’re now bringing the resulting hard-fought expertise and capabilities, our commitment to health and clean ingredients, and our brand to adjacent categories, where we believe we can be disruptive and win,” Brown told investors in the company’s Q4 2025 earnings call.

“Things that really help tell the story around Beyond and tell the clean ingredient and healthy narrative are the ones that we’re focusing on going forward,” he added.

The launch comes shortly after Beyond signed a deal to secure pea protein from ingredient supplier Roquette, with a minimum purchase commitment of $23.5M, running until the end of next year.