From Monday 29 May, the Beyond Burger will be available in 280 Safeway stores across California and will be stocked in the meat aisle. This brings the number of stores the Beyond Burger is available in to 650. It is being stocked in the retailer’s meat aisle as part of Beyond Meat’s ‘Future of Protein’ vision to “reimagine the meat section as the Protein Section of the store”. Safeway will sell The Beyond Burger in a pack of two four-ounce patties for $5.99.
‘Shift in consumer appetite’
Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat’s CEO, said: “We created The Beyond Burger to give meat-loving consumers all the juicy and delicious satisfaction they seek in a burger plus the added health, sustainability, and animal welfare upsides of a plant-based meal. Our early research indicates that 70% of Beyond Burger consumers are, in fact, carnivores who seek to incorporate more plant-based foods into their diet. The expansion of The Beyond Burger into a mainstream, conventional grocer like Safeway really speaks to the continued shift in consumers’ appetites and purchasing patterns.”
Safeway is a food retailer with 2,200 stores in 33 states and the District of Columbia that employs approximately 265,000 people.
The Beyond Burger is made mostly from peas with beets to give it a red appearance.
In October 2016, Tyson Foods acquired a 5% stake in Beyond Meat in an effort to give them “exposure to a fast-growing market”.
The meat substitute market is expected to grow to $5.2bn by 2020.
Beyond Meat has also seen support from Bill Gates and the Humane Society of the United States and recently announced in-roads into Hong Kong foodservice establishments. As well as its Beyond Burger and Beast Burger beef-style products, it also produces chicken-style produce.