Meat's back on the menu

After years in the dog house, meat has worked its way back into America’s hearts (and stomachs), creating an existential crisis for meat-bashing companies like Beyond Meat.

You read that right: The company formerly known as Beyond Meat has chopped “meat” from its name and been reborn as Beyond The Plant Protein Co., or just “Beyond” on its packaging.

This pivot is a make-or-break moment for the brand. Americans’ appetite for plant-based burgers, chicken nuggets, and other alternatives peaked back in 2020, and over the past two years, store sales for these products have plummeted 26%, according to NIQ. That’s taken a serious toll on Beyond’s sales: During the first nine months of 2025, its net revenue dropped 14%.

Beyond’s shares have been trading under $1 since mid-January, and the rebranding news hasn’t moved the needle much so far: The stock is up just 1.98% today, but remains down 3.32% year to date.

Part of the problem is that shoppers started reading the fine print on these supposedly healthy products and didn’t like what they saw: added sugars, sodium, and other questionable components. Since then, the company has pared down the formula for its flagship burger, Beyond IV, into a cleaner, healthier mix than its mystery-meat-alternative predecessors.

Zoom out: The bigger challenge is that veganism has been eclipsed by the protein craze, which has been popping up in everything from Starbucks coffee to ice cream to plain old water. Beyond recently hopped on this bandwagon with its first beverage—a sparkling protein drink called Beyond Immerse—and plans to release a protein bar this summer.

Meat: It’s what’s for dinner

This shift back to true-blue, red-blooded animal flesh has not only shaken up grocery aisles, but the pecking order of the restaurant industry. Case in point: Bragging rights for the largest sit-down restaurant by sales now goes to Texas Roadhouse, a chain famed for serving up steak for under twenty bucks.

Sadly, though, these high-protein, low-priced meals may not last, since beef prices have risen by a third over the past three years. Given that beef makes up about half of the company’s ingredient costs, it's no wonder Roadhouse’s profits fell last year by 6.5% to $405.6 million—its first annual drop since 2020—and EPS came in 26% lower year over year when earnings were announced in mid-February.

The chain raised prices by 2% last year and is slated to raise them again this April to offset the decline, and shares remain up 3.34% year to date despite the tough report. Clearly, diners and investors alike both enjoy a good steak dinner.—JD