Beyond Meat Expands Retail Distribution To 5,000 U.S. Outlets & At Thousands Of Locations Across Europe

Plant-based pioneer Beyond Meat recently announced that it will be expanding its U.S. retail distribution at several national and regional grocery chains, and followed the news with throughout Europe, where it will be available in thousands of new retail locations including the U.K, Germany and Austria.

California-based food tech giant Beyond Meat is already available in around 28,000 retail outlets across the U.S. and according to the company, it is the number one selling plant-based meat brand in the refrigerated category at grocery stores and across foodservice channels in the country.

The products selected for expansion include Beyond Meatballs, which are ready to cook 30% less saturated fat and sodium than conventional meatballs. This product will be available at Target’s 750 stores and Giant Foods’ 163 stores. Apart from this, Beyond Breakfast Sausage Links are in the list and contains 40% less sodium than its meat counterpart, and both these products are available at Kroger across its 1,500 stores.

Further, Cookout Classic, Beyond Meat’s plant-based burger family pack, will be expanding throughout April and May to over 3,000 existing retail partner stores such as Wegmans, Albertsons/Safeway (Mid-Atlantic, NorCal, Phoenix and Portland), FreshDirect.com, Jewel, Sprouts, Stew Leonard’s, and Stop & Shop.

In May, Beyond Sausage will be available as part of the expansion deal at Super Target’s 200+ stores.

In a press release seen by Green Queen, Beyond Meat’s Chief Growth Officer Chuck Muth said that the expansion plans are due to the rising plant-based meat demand from consumers.“Last year, we expanded our retail portfolio by introducing six new product SKUs. In tandem, we’ve been able to work with major retailers across the country to expand our in-store presence to offer more Beyond Meat products in more stores to advance our unwavering commitment towards making plant-based meat options that are better for people and the planet more accessible to all.”

We’ve been able to work with major retailers across the country to expand our in-store presence to offer more Beyond Meat products in more stores to advance our unwavering commitment towards making plant-based meat options that are better for people and the planet more accessible to all

Chuck Muth, Chief Growth Officer, Beyond Meat

In addition, the company is aggressively increasing its retail reach in Europe. Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger will launch in the U.K. with leading supermarket chain Sainsbury’s and at upmarket grocery Waitrose, where the brand already stocks its Beyond Burger and Beyond Sausage, the products are set to enter 445 new retail locations.

In Germany, the brand will expand to 1,000 new German stores via retail partners Kaufland, Tegut, Famila and Real. In Austria, product offerings will be expanded at SPAR locations and new additions will be made to BILLA and BILLA PLUS locations, which adds up to a total of 1,500 new retail stores.

In Switzerland, Beyond Mince will be distributed to 155 Migros stores and in the Netherlands, the same product will be available at 1,000 Albert Heijn and Jumbo stores.

The company also has eyes on France, Spain, Belgium and Italy, with plans to expand its products to retailers in these regions such as Casino Group, Carrefour, Esselunga and Delhaize.

According to a new consumer study in Europe, more than a quarter of the people in the region are actively shifting to plant-based diets, and over 57% of flexitarians said that they have a strong desire to become vegetarians, with almost 8% hoping to embrace a vegan diet.

Speaking about the European expansion, Muth added: “These new and expanded retail partnerships throughout the continent serve as strong proof points that Europe’s appetite for plant-based meat and Beyond Meat products in particular is on the rise. In fact, because of our strict ingredient guardrails, we’ve been able to more easily enter global markets including the EU to make plant-based meat options that are better for people and the planet more accessible to all.”

Beyond Meat’s first co-manufacturing European facility, in partnership with Zandbergen World’s Finest Meat in Zoeterwoude, and its acquired manufacturing facility in Enschede will work together to facilitate end-to-end manufacturing capabilities in Europe and thus help expand its products across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

These new and expanded retail partnerships throughout the continent serve as strong proof points that Europe’s appetite for plant-based meat and Beyond Meat products in particular is on the rise

Chuck Muth, Chief Growth Officer, Beyond Meat

In a study analyzing the impact of switching to Beyond Meat’s animal-free products on an individual’s cholesterol levels (including LDL) and heart disease risk, researchers found that these factors made crucial improvements in these areas.

Beyond Meat has been rapidly expanding and introducing its products to new markets, for instance, through Delhi-based agro-food producer and meat distributor IFFCO, the brand is set to launch in India via select retailers.

The plant-based leader just opened its first production facility in mainland China that will look to increase production of its plant-based meats, especially Beyond Pork that was developed for Chinese consumers.

Lead image courtesy of Beyond Meat.