- 4 hours ago
In 2019, the plant-based meat industry experienced explosive growth.
Investors poured hundreds of millions of dollars into companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. Fast-food giants like McDonald’s and Burger King rolled out plant-based burgers nationwide. Even celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Katy Perry backed the movement.
But then momentum stalled.
Since the early 2020s, plant-based meat sales have cooled, and prices remain high. Critics question how ultra-processed these products are. And some meat industry groups have pushed back with advertising campaigns and lobbying efforts.
Investors poured hundreds of millions of dollars into companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. Fast-food giants like McDonald’s and Burger King rolled out plant-based burgers nationwide. Even celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Katy Perry backed the movement.
But then momentum stalled.
Since the early 2020s, plant-based meat sales have cooled, and prices remain high. Critics question how ultra-processed these products are. And some meat industry groups have pushed back with advertising campaigns and lobbying efforts.
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00:01Take a look at these sizzling beefy patties.
00:05There are 16 ingredients in this Impossible Burger.
00:09Meanwhile, this patty has one.
00:12The ingredient list alone is an easy explanation for why plant-based beef
00:17can be more than 80% more expensive per ounce than animal beef.
00:21Lowering prices was always part of the plan for companies like Impossible Foods.
00:26And getting enough people to eat plant-based meat was a way in.
00:31Just a few years ago, it seemed like plant-based meats were everywhere.
00:37When we rolled out the Impossible Burger, it was gangbusters.
00:41But the breakout moment quickly turned into a battle.
00:46So-called smear campaigns and an all-out fight for market share slowed the plant-based boom.
00:51There's almost like this fight between the meat products versus the plant-based products.
00:57And we don't need that fight.
00:59With demand slowing, plant-based burgers, chicken nuggets and sausages
01:04still cost way more than the real things.
01:08So what happened to the meteoric rise of plant-based meat?
01:12And why is it still so expensive?
01:17Plant-based meat began gaining ground in the 2010s, sparking fierce competition to better mimic the real thing.
01:24At the time, Beyond and Impossible Foods were two of the biggest names in the plant-based meat industry,
01:31creating products specifically targeting meat eaters.
01:35But doing so cost a lot of money.
01:37When Business Insider filmed Beyond's facilities in 2018, we saw firsthand the science behind its signature burger.
01:46The company tests how closely products match real beef down to the last detail.
01:52They even get blood stains on their white coats, just like butchers do.
01:57But these are from beets, which get dehydrated to add realistic color.
02:02The patty endures a few tests, including this meat x-ray, which analyzes how the Beyond Burger compares to beef.
02:11It's then pressed into a machine that tests the chew and mouthfeel of the burgers.
02:17The main protein in Beyond Burgers comes from peas, which are prone to supply chain and price fluctuations.
02:25Some Impossible products rely on soy protein, as well as an ingredient called heme.
02:31It's the molecules derived from soy that help give Impossible Burgers that meaty taste.
02:37It requires high-tech fermentation, specialized equipment, and expensive labor.
02:44All this pricey testing seemed to have paid off.
02:47By 2018, Beyond and Impossible Burgers were being sold in more than 6,000 restaurants and grocery stores across the
02:55United States.
02:56People were just showing up at our restaurants in droves to try this pot. It was amazing.
03:00That's Euripides Pelicanos, CEO of Bear Burger, the first fast-casual chain to put the Impossible Burger on its menu
03:08back in 2017.
03:10When we rolled out Impossible Burgers or Beyond and other companies, there was a higher cost to buy these products
03:19and to serve these products.
03:20And that cost still remains.
03:22But since the restaurant introduced the Impossible Burger, plant-based options have been a mainstay for its brand.
03:29This is for our vegan and plant-based options. All our animal or other proteins are cooked on their main
03:39grill.
03:40Misha has been Bear Burger's culinary director since 2010.
03:43He showed us how he cooks the Impossible Standard, Bear Burger's best-selling plant-based burger.
03:51The goal is to get a nice sear on it. Now we're going to add caramelized onions.
03:56We're going to season it with our health seasoning.
04:00We're going to add our oak milk cheddar.
04:04We're going to cover and steam.
04:06There was a time where Impossible Burgers were almost 20% of our menu sales, which is pretty remarkable.
04:14That's the Impossible Standard.
04:17Bear Burger wasn't the only one experiencing the spike in sales.
04:21When Burger King rolled out the Impossible Whopper in 2019, it was such a huge hit that Burger King's CEO
04:28noted it has quickly become one of the most successful product launches in Burger King's history.
04:35As plant-based meats were showing up in fast food chains, companies like Impossible and Beyond were tapping into rising
04:42health, environmental, and animal welfare concerns among consumers.
04:48Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of investments flooded in from businesses and celebrities alike.
04:54You want that plant-based great taste? Fresh out the oven.
04:58By 2019, nearly half of Americans had tried plant-based meat.
05:03That same year, when Beyond went public, its stock prices rose by over 160%.
05:10With demand skyrocketing, the industry seemed ready to scale to a point where it could lower prices
05:15and have a fighting chance to compete with the meat industry.
05:20However...
05:20Meat producers have all the advantages of economies of scale because they have experience.
05:25They're producing so many products.
05:28They're saving on that.
05:29They have very efficient production processes.
05:32Then there are also subsidies.
05:34While the impact of government funding on meat prices is debated,
05:38these subsidies have been far more concentrated in the meat industry than the plant-based sector.
05:44An analysis of USDA subsidies shows that between 1995 and 2021, roughly $49.6 billion went to livestock producers through
05:56various programs,
05:57which is an average of about $2 billion a year.
06:01By comparison, from 2018 to 2021, the USDA has spent less than $30 million supporting alternative proteins, including plant-based
06:11foods.
06:11Still, by 2021, Impossible Foods was able to lower prices multiple times by at least 15% because of its
06:20successful sales.
06:21As the popularity of plant-based meat grew, some conventional meat companies created their own plant-based meat lines,
06:28while other meat industry groups decided to fight back.
06:32Take a look at this ad in a 2019 edition of the New York Times, calling plant-based meat ultra
06:39-processed imitations.
06:40And this ad featuring the slogan, fake meat, real chemicals, which ran in the Wall Street Journal and the New
06:47York Post.
06:47All of them were paid for by the Center for Consumer Freedom, or CCF, which launched a full-fledged campaign
06:55under the name Clean Food Facts.
06:57It draws attention to the long list of ingredients and processing used to make plant-based meat.
07:03While the CCF does not disclose its donors, it has confirmed it received funding from meat producers.
07:10And a major driver was Richard Berman.
07:14He and the CCF have worked on public campaigns for the alcohol, tobacco and meat industries.
07:21Berman founded the CCF, but left the organization several years ago.
07:25In 2020, the CCF ran a Super Bowl 54 commercial attacking meat alternatives.
07:32Propylene glycol.
07:34It's a chemical used in antifreeze and synthetic meats.
07:38It's not just the CCF, though.
07:41Meat industry groups such as the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the Meat Institute have lobbied to tighten labeling laws
07:48on plant-based meat.
07:50Plant-based meat companies didn't back down.
07:54After the Super Bowl attack ad, Impossible quickly called attention to a Consumer Reports investigation that found fecal matter in
08:02ground beef.
08:03Impossible released a commercial of its own that parodied the Super Bowl spot.
08:08And there's poop in the ground beef we make from cows.
08:12Meanwhile, Beyond focused on reworking its burger recipe to cut down on fat and calories.
08:18A few years later, the company released a short film directly addressing the attack ads.
08:25But those early ads attacking plant-based meat came at a time when public opinion seemed to be shifting.
08:31Particularly in recasting foods that had been marketed as healthy as ultra-processed.
08:36There is a lot of debate if these products should be called ultra-processed or not.
08:42Terms that sometimes make me a little bit angry.
08:44Ultra-processed foods undergo various processing methods using refined ingredients and additives, which have been linked to obesity, cancers and
08:54cardiovascular diseases.
08:57Some plant-based meats do fit into this category.
09:00But…
09:01Overall, these products were a lot better than their animal-based counterparts.
09:05So for example, they were better in terms of their energy density.
09:09They had lower saturated fats.
09:11They actually increased a lot of fiber.
09:13A 2025 systematic review by Sarah and colleagues examined the nutritional, health and environmental impacts of plant-based meats.
09:21She says the attack ads not only altered plant-based meats reputation among consumers, but also muddled scientific evidence.
09:30And it was a bit, I think, upsetting.
09:33Almost just like all the evidence that we accumulated and that we worked so hard, it almost like gets diluted.
09:39While the sales of plant-based meat initially increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry struggled to keep its
09:47customers.
09:47Something like COVID and experiencing something where you have such a lack of control of your health.
09:53That manifested in people learning more about nutrients, about ingredients, about processing.
09:59When there are some crisis in the world, there's economic uncertainty.
10:04They become even more price sensitive.
10:06In 2021, a Deloitte survey found that 68% of respondents who purchased plant-based meat believed it was healthier
10:15than animal meat.
10:15By 2022, that number had dropped to 60%.
10:19The hope of increasing demand, efficiency and scale started to falter.
10:25We saw the sales of those plant-based options on our menu decrease.
10:31I would say they became 30% of their height.
10:36So if it was 20% of our menu, it's now become 5% of our menu.
10:40From 2021 to 2022, supermarket sales of refrigerated plant-based meat decreased by 14%.
10:49Some restaurants that initially embraced plant-based meat have since pulled those products from their menus.
10:55Impossible and Beyond also experienced layoffs.
10:59And Beyond's stock, from its record highs in 2019, plummeted more than 99% in 2025.
11:09The company announced it would increase its prices.
11:13Beef prices have also reached record highs.
11:17Impossible's former CEO noted in October 2025 that the company's products are priced similarly to premium meats, like grass-fed
11:26organic beef.
11:27Aside from high costs, another problem companies need to address is improving taste, which could mean spending more money.
11:36According to consumer research, the taste of plant-based foods is a significant factor that stops people from regularly eating
11:43them.
11:44A lot of innovation is going on and the products are becoming better and better.
11:50However, we base our expectation on this past experience rather than giving it a fair shot in the current environment.
12:00So we put Beyond and Impossible's newest burgers in a blind taste test against a frozen beef burger.
12:07I would say hamburgers are on, like, my top ten list of favorite things.
12:11I'm a little worried that plant-based meat will suffer in comparison.
12:15What comes to mind when I think of plant-based meats?
12:18Kind of rubbery, to be honest.
12:21I put it in a different category than, like, regular meat.
12:24Like, it's not supposed to taste exactly like that, so it's okay if it tastes different.
12:27It's just a different thing.
12:28We first had them try a plain, impossible burger.
12:32The texture I don't really love kind of tastes a little bit like what I imagine the inside of my
12:40sofa pillows tastes like.
12:42I'm thinking that's meat. It tastes like meat.
12:45It didn't taste rubbery or fake at all.
12:48It tastes close to real beef, yeah.
12:52I definitely think this is one of the plant-based ones.
12:55It's sort of meaty, but it's not quite right.
13:00Then they tasted a Beyond Burger.
13:03It definitely is closer to beef than the previous one.
13:06Maybe a more mild aftertaste than the other one, but still tastes, like, beefy, fatty, savory.
13:12This one was blander, for sure.
13:14It was still good, though. I liked what I ate. Like, I was like, yum.
13:17I like that.
13:19That's good.
13:21It has some juiciness even to it.
13:23After two plant-based burgers, we gave them a frozen beef burger.
13:28Could definitely be beef.
13:30My guess is, based off what I just put in my mouth, is that that's some sort of, like, frozen
13:35actual meat.
13:36It has pretty much no flavor. Sorry. It's kind of giving boo for me.
13:40Like, tastes like this is the real beef. And it tastes worse.
13:46I can tell that it's not the real thing, I don't think, compared to the second one.
13:49I would be shocked if the second one wasn't real beef. That would be crazy to me.
13:53At the end, they chose their favorite burger and guessed which one was beef.
13:58It's tough to pick between the second one and the third one.
14:02But I think it's this last one here is the tastiest.
14:06So definitely one is my favorite. It definitely, to me, I think, tasted the most like a burger.
14:11I think the third one was the real beef burger, because beef needs more help with the flavor.
14:17I do believe that this one was the beef burger. I feel really confident about that.
14:25I feel validated as a carnivore, because that was my favorite, narrowly, but my favorite.
14:33This one's real? The last one? This one was terrible. What type of real beef was this?
14:39I am surprised. I thought that in a side-by-side, real beef was going to beat out.
14:44And in fact, plant-based won for me by a lot.
14:48I am shocked! Stop!
14:51That is delicious.
14:53Wow, y'all did your thing.
14:56The results of our limited experiment suggest that meat doesn't always win over plant-based alternatives.
15:02This does actually mirror other, larger-scale, and more scientific blind taste tests.
15:09In 2025, a nonprofit conducted a blind taste test with 2,600 participants.
15:15They compared more than 100 plant-based meats to real meat products.
15:20In those tests, 20 plant-based products met a key benchmark.
15:24At least 50% of tasters liked them as much as, or more than, the animal version.
15:30But getting people to try improved recipes is its own challenge.
15:36To add another layer of complexity, reformulating products to address health and taste concerns
15:41can also mean more expensive ingredients.
15:44Take Beyond's newly improved beef products, for example.
15:48In 2024, the company swapped out canola and coconut oils for avocado oil,
15:53which the company described as offering heart-healthy monosaturated fats and even meatier beefy flavor.
16:00Avocado oil is so much more expensive than canola oil, so inherently that's like a big decision for the company
16:06to make.
16:07This puts plant-based meats in a triple bind.
16:10Consumers say they want plant-based meat to taste better and use fewer ingredients,
16:15all while costing about the same or even lower than the real thing.
16:20To meet all of those benchmarks, some companies are betting on reinvention.
16:26Prime Roots is part of the next wave of plant-based meat companies prioritizing cleaner labels
16:31and better nutrition to address processing concerns.
16:34The company focuses on deli meats, a type of processed meat rarely seen in the plant-based space,
16:40but that's still riddled with the same health issues associated with the category.
16:46We really wanted to have a disciplined approach to the market
16:49and really focus on a category that people weren't really focusing on.
16:53We like to say we like to deliver killer taste that doesn't kill you.
16:56To make that promise possible, Prime Roots uses a fungi blend as the protein base of its products.
17:02The key ingredient is mycelium, a root-like network found in fungi that's catching on in the industry.
17:09And it gives the products the umami taste, the meaty texture, all naturally.
17:14And it's a simple fermentation process, and then the fungi gets filtered out.
17:19And it's kind of like chicken breast, like in its base raw format.
17:25They then mix in spices that match the specific meat they're mimicking
17:29and follow the same process as making deli meats.
17:31The ham into a netting, the salami into a casing, and we roast the products and package them,
17:37and they go right into the delis where they get sliced fresh.
17:39While Prime Roots aims to resemble meat, other plant-based meat companies are shifting away from mimicking meat altogether.
17:48In 2025, Beyond Meat revealed it was dropping meat from its name.
17:53It even introduced a line of protein drinks to rebrand as a broader plant-based protein source.
17:59Meanwhile, Impossible Foods is doubling down on marketing the meatiness of its products.
18:05When the world says too much meat is bad and we should eat less of it, we say no world,
18:10we should eat more!
18:11In 2025, the company even teamed up with competitive eating champion Joey Chestnut, challenging him to eat 99 Impossible Nuggets.
18:2099 Impossible Nuggets, nine innings in one epic showdown.
18:26As the industry evolves, leaning toward its inherent strengths seems to be a way forward.
18:32There is always going to be this big push from meat lobbyists and stuff like that against them.
18:38And there is also a huge demand for this to exist from not just nutritionists but also vegetarians.
18:45People have different tastes, different preferences.
18:50And therefore, it's not about finding the replacement product that is like the meat killer,
18:57but rather offering a variety of options so that everybody can pick what they prefer.
19:05For us, keeping plant-based meats on our menu, it's become a staple of our brand.
19:10People expect it, so it will always have a place on the menu.
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