Beyond Meat’s Pepperoni Problem Threatens Its Fast-Food Future
More than a year into a major partnership with the parent company of Pizza Hut, the alt-meat company is struggling to deliver new products.
In February 2021, Beyond Meat Inc. promised to bring fake meat to Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell. More than a year and millions of dollars later, none of the restaurants has permanently added a faux-meat menu item in the US, leaving Beyond struggling to expand past its flagship burgers and sausages.
No product may be more emblematic of the El Segundo, California-based company’s current challenges than Beyond Pepperoni. Spicy, sliced pork is the most popular topping in the $46 billion US pizza business, and the alt-meat maker spent more than a year trying to nail a vegan version of it, but was plagued by production setbacks. In the meantime, competitors like Hormel Foods Corp. and Maple Leaf Foods Inc. started offering their own vegan pepperonis at smaller chains.