Bram Meijer from Beyond Meat on why plant-based meat is here to stay

Bram Meijer is the Regional Marketing Director of the EMEA region at Beyond Meat. Beyond Meat is a leading plant-based meat company, founded in Los Angeles in 2009. They offer a revolutionary portfolio of products, including the iconic and award-winning Beyond Burger, Beyond Mince, Beyond Sausage, and Beyond Meatballs. In 2019, Beyond Meat had its Initial Public Offering on the United States Nasdaq stock exchange, making it the first plant-based meat company to go public. Nowadays, Beyond Meat’s products are available at approximately 188,000 retail and food service outlets across 85 countries worldwide. Bram is responsible for all marketing efforts in the EMEA region.

The Moment of Truth

Food marketing often focuses on temptation and impulse, but according to Bram, when it comes to plant-based meat, other considerations come into play: “For plant-based protein, it’s a combination of sustainability, nutrition, and taste. That’s what makes this category unique and interesting. Sustainability has become more and more important to consumers, and they are becoming aware of the impact of food on the world around them (Our World in Data). Once consumers realize that, for many of them, it becomes a Moment of Truth at which they decide to try a plant-based meat product for the first time.”

“26% of our emission footprint is food-related. Once consumers realize that, it becomes a Moment of Truth.*“

*Source: Our World in Data

The taste of our products is our USP

“Our power is in products with great taste and a juicy, meaty experience. Once people taste our products – such as a Beyond Burger or a taco filled with Beyond Mince, they love it, which is why we win many independent taste tests and have many fans and brand ambassadors who give us spontaneous shout-outs. Beyond Meat is known for working with high-profile ambassadors, such as athletes and celebrities, including footballer Serge Gnabry, tennis player Nick Kyrgios, Kim Kardashian and Snoop Dog. The ambassador approach gave our brand a major push in the early years, and it is still part of our strategy, especially in the US. It is important for us that our story is told in a credible way and that our ambassadors truly believe in Beyond Meat’s vision.“

Beyond Meat, a springboard to enter the plant-based meat category

In the UK, another successful approach for Beyond Meat has been partnering up with Veganuary. “Veganuary is an annual challenge that educates about veganism by encouraging people to follow a vegan lifestyle for the month of January.“ explains Bram. „Veganuary is important to us because, for a lot of consumers, this challenge is a trigger to try plant-based protein for the first time.

We’ve recently launched our new Veganuary 2023 campaign in the UK, where we’ve teamed up with flexitarian Peter Andre to inspire the nation to take the first step towards a more plant-based diet. The PR and social campaign – Take The First Step Beyond – is set to target ardent carnivores and flexitarians, and is led by Veganuary’s own insight that carnivores often take their first step to going plant-based with Beyond Meat products.”

Image credits: Beyond Meat

Where food meets culture

“Consumer insights differ per region which brings out a challenge in terms of content. Sustainability, health and taste are important everywhere but the balance differs among countries and regions. While the content developed for the US worked quite well in the early stages, we now create more local content. Next year we will launch a new campaign specifically aimed and created for Europe.

“Another important pillar in Beyond Meat´s marketing mix is sampling, and we are convinced that tasting is believing.”, Bram adds. “When it comes to tasting, we also work closely together with our retail partners and our food service partners. Our Beyond Burger is very well-known and used by many food service companies as their non-meat burger option. Food also meets culture at events, where we bring our food trucks to connect with the audience and do a lot of sampling and demonstrations. We have a unique position in the food service industry, and that sets us apart from our competitors.”

“Our Beyond Burger is very well-known and used by many food service companies, which sets us apart from our competitors and gives us a unique position in the food service industry.”

Image credits: Beyond Meat

It’s all about making an impact

“Ethan Brown, our CEO, always said he wanted Beyond Meat to be sold at the places where his kids like to eat, for instance, fast food chains like McDonald’s. It was a big milestone when we achieved this. The McPlant – made with a Beyond Meat patty – has been tested and introduced in several international markets including Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Australia, the US, Germany, Portugal, and Taiwan. It is now a permanent menu item in the UK, Ireland, Austria and the Netherlands. And just in time for Veganuary, McDonald’s has launched the Double McPlant – featuring not one, but two of the much-loved, juicy Beyond Meat patties – in the UK!“

„In the end, it’s all about making an impact and driving accessibility and availability for the mass. Vegans and vegetarians make up a small part of our population so our target market includes flexitarians and carnivores too. That is why we find it important to offer a really meaty taste and texture, as close to animal protein as possible.

„The Beyond Meat taste has brought us to where we are today. Plant-based meat is turning into a movement, growing year by year, and it’s here to stay.”