Beyond Meat missed market expectations for quarterly revenue and posted a wider-than-expected loss, hurt by relentless weakness in demand for plant-based meat.
The company, which also supplies its plant-based patties to fast food chains such as McDonald's and Yum! Brands, has been offering steeper discounts, as consumer sentiment about plant-based meat and its health benefits took a beating.
In August, Beyond Meat cited data from trade association Food Marketing Institute which showed the percentage of consumers in the US who believe plant-based meats are healthy dropped from 50% to 38% from 2020 to 2022.
Net revenue for the third quarter fell 8.7% to $75.3 million (€70.3 million), compared with analysts' average estimate of revenue of $85.4 million (€79.8 million), as per LSEG data.
The company's shares have fallen almost 45% so far this year.
Plant-Based Protein Alternatives
"Consumers in the US haven't fully warmed up to plant-based protein alternatives like Beyond Meat... because the products currently available on the market don't live up to shoppers' standards for taste and flavour," said Rachel Wolff, a senior analyst at Insider Intelligence.
With household budgets pinched by sticky inflation, consumers have also swayed to cheaper animal proteins instead of pricier plant-based alternatives.
Earlier this month, the company trimmed its annual revenue forecast and lowered its gross margin expectations. The company also announced fresh job cuts as part of a cost-reduction plan.
For the period ended 30 September, Beyond Meat posted a loss of $1.09 per share, compared with market expectations of a loss of 89 cents per share.
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