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If it turns out that meatless burgers are everywhere, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic hit america in the spring, it’s because they are, with domestic TV campaigns, retail offerings, and fast food alliances developing.
The latest evidence: Morningstar Farms’ Lightlife and Incogmeato ads are broadcast as Real Housewives and other best-watched brave series, and fierce rivals Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat make announcements, almost every week, about the expansion of their omnichannel presence.
In this context, Los Angeles-based Beyond on Thursday unveiled its committed e-commerce platform, creating a direct channel for consumers who are avoiding physical retail.
The purpose of the site is to “make it as simple as possible for others to tailor our vegetable meats to their lifestyle,” said Chuck Muth, Growth Director. “As consumer purchasing behavior has expanded to reach more grocery deliveries, now is the time to empower others and provide some other point of contact.”
Beyond, who recently presented his first television ad, the NBA Playoffs, made retail his first prevention on the road to ubiquity. So far, it has Costco, Target, Vons and Fred Meyer among its 26,000 retailers. Recent agreements with Sam’s Club and BJ’s Warehouse integrate the logo into club stores.
Beyond’s direct-to-consumer site will offer combination packages, bundled product packages, and limited-time virtual offers, which will ship within 2 days in recyclable boxes. It will bring the logo closer to its buyers, provide valuable feedback and serve as a kitchen to control new plant proteins. (The burgers are very hot, although 2020 was the year of the fake sausage and the bird without a bird.)
Beyond that, the 2019 IPO favorite saw its retail revenue rise to 192% in the current quarter, year after year, and recorded record revenues of $113 million, an increase of 69%, according to Muth. Brand penetration into home construction increased by 40% between January and June, he said.
Beyond and the Impossible, which experienced three-digit sales spikes during the public fitness crisis, are promoting accessibility at a time when consumers are rethinking (and reducing) their meat consumption, raising environmental and fitness considerations and converting their shopping habits. Both brands are stored on Amazon and on the online sites of various spouse supermarkets.
Impossible has its own direct-to-consumer channel, stocked basically with bulk products such as 5-pound packaging and prefabricated 10-quarter-pound burgers. It was introduced in June as one of the first in the category, exceeded internal expectations and recorded “an order from each state almost immediately,” said Jessica Appelgren, vice president of communications. The logo is also sold through Instacart, Cheetah and Postmates.
The Silicon Valley-based startup, which had focused heavily on sampling and pre-stay events, re-immersed itself in experiential marketing this week with a car wash service in Los Angeles.
The trick, which attracted about 800 consumers in 10 hours, unveiled its first pack of two prefabricated empanadas, now on sale at its more than 10,000 national retailers.