Beyond Meat Launches Plant-Based Steak Nationwide
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Steak is the holy grail of vegetable meat. In theory, ground beef’s relatively indiscriminate texture and spice-enhanced sausage flavors should be simple compared to the complex tissues and tastes found in a sirloin or tenderloin. And so at a time when the debate still rages on whether plant-based brands have created a suitable alternative to the burger, skeptics will surely wonder if the fake steak can come close to reproduce reality.
But Beyond Meat is prepared to try anyway. The biggest name in plant-based products today announced the launch of Beyond Steak at more than 5,000 Kroger and Walmart locations, as well as other select retailers nationwide.
But don’t grab your steak knives just yet. Beyond Steak does not replicate any full cuts. The packaging bills the product as “plant-based skillet tricks,” and Beyond offers examples of using these meat-mimicking “chunks” in dishes like Philly cheesesteak, tacos, or stir-fries. The product is said to be seared and chopped before being sold frozen, and Beyond suggests it can be prepared in a skillet or air fryer in just five minutes.
“Beyond Steak is a highly anticipated extension of our popular beef platform and we are proud to introduce this innovative product to consumers nationwide,” said Dariush Ajami, Chief Innovation Officer at Beyond Meat. “Beyond Steak delivers the taste and texture of sliced steak in a way that’s better for people and the planet.”
In hammering out those final points, Beyond Meat bills its faux steak as offering 21 grams of protein per serving, “having low saturated fat and having 0 mg of cholesterol with no added antibiotics or hormones,” while offering the “environmental benefits of the meat plant.”
Beyond Meat points out that Beyond Steak is the latest addition to their retail plant-based beef portfolio, which also includes Beyond Burger, Beyond Beef and Beyond Meatballs. But it was the fast food front that provided the biggest clue that Beyond Steak was in the works: Last month, Beyond Meat teamed up with Taco Bell to test Beyond Carne Asada Steak.
