Beyond Meat, Oatly Incur Big Quarterly Losses

Nov. 15, 2022

Two of the biggest publicly held alternative protein processors are suffering.

Two of the most prominent alt-protein companies have found the most recent fiscal quarter a rough one for their plant-based meat and milk.

The money-burn rate at Beyond Meat is intensifying. The alt-meat company reported a net loss of $101.7 million for its third fiscal quarter, ending Oct. 1., compared with a $54.8 million loss in the same period last year. Sales stood at $82.5 million, a 23% decline year-over-year.

Beyond Meat attributed the losses to weakening consumer interest in the alt-meat category, a drop in margins due to product price decreases that were needed for competitiveness, and a challenging economic climate overall. Founder and CEO Ethan Brown said the company will transition away from what he called a “growth-above-all operating model” to one more focused on sustainable growth.

Oatly Group AB, the Swedish company that pioneered oat milk, reported a third-quarter loss of $107.9 million, compared with a $41.2 million loss for the same period last year. Revenue was $183 million, a 7% year-over-year increase.

To cut costs, Oatly will institute cost-saving measures that include using co-manufacturers more extensively and instituting “an overhead and headcount reduction,” aimed at saving up to $25 million annually.

About the Author

Pan Demetrakakes | Senior Editor

Pan has written about the food and beverage industry for more than 25 years. His areas of coverage have included formulations, processing, packaging, marketing and retailing. Pan worked for Food Processing Magazine for six years in the 1990s, where he was operations editor (his current role), touring dozens of food plants of every description. He has also worked for Packaging and Food & Beverage Packaging magazines, the latter as chief editor, during which he won three ASBPE awards. He is a graduate of Stanford University with a BA in communications.