Beyond Meat took the word “meat” off its packaging. What’s left is one word: Beyond.
Beyond what?
I’ve been chewing on that since the Wall Street Journal ran a piece last week on Beyond’s turnaround plan. There’s a new corporate name, Beyond the Plant Protein Company. There’s protein powder, jerky-style bars and fizzy protein drinks, and a new campaign planned for next year built around what founder Ethan Brown calls “thrive mode.” Brown also said something I respect: “Marketing is easier when it’s true.”
I have some skin in this game. I worked on Taco Bell, and Taco Bell did something that looks a lot like what Beyond tried. “Think Outside the Bun” was positioning against an enemy, and the enemy was the burger. It worked.
