Podcast Summary: Business Wars – Beyond Meat vs Impossible Burger | "We've Got Beef" | Episode 5

Release Date: January 8, 2026
Host: David Brown (A)
Guests: Dina Shanker, Bloomberg Businessweek (B); Clint Rainey, Fast Company (C)

Episode Overview

This episode explores the rise and fall of plant-based meat giants Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, two companies once at the forefront of a food tech revolution. Host David Brown investigates why the buzz dimmed, how financial turbulence, marketing missteps, and online attacks contributed to their struggles, and whether there’s a place for these brands on the future table. Featured reporters Dina Shanker and Clint Rainey offer insider perspectives on Wall Street mania, meme stock volatility, industry smear campaigns, and the complex cultural moment for “fake meat.”

Key Discussions & Insights

1. The Early Hype: From Novelty to Mainstream (02:10–06:28)

• Dina Shanker recalls the buzz around early Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger launches, describing "a hopin’ party in the East Village" just to try a sample (02:37).
  • Classic veggie burgers were "soy mush...sometimes crispy, sometimes you could see the vegetables in it," but never truly rivaled beef in taste or texture (03:17).
• The intent to mimic beef was strategic: “It really comes down to the total addressable market…if you’re looking to replace a garden burger, it’s a much smaller market than beef” (05:03–05:39).

Notable Quote:
“It was all like, up until this point, every veggie burger had been kind of like a soy mush patty...there was nothing that really felt like it was really competing with a beef burger.”
—Dina Shanker (03:14)

2. Who’s Really Buying These Burgers? (08:54–10:35)

• Despite aspirations to attract meat eaters, real buyers turned out to be “people that don't eat meat...but not all of them, because some vegetarians don’t even want something that tastes like meat” (09:19).
• Both brands struggled to define their market; at restaurants, veggie burgers “are often just the only thing non-meat eaters can order” (10:29).

3. Messaging, Marketing, and Missed Opportunities (11:02–13:36)

• Beyond Meat: Focused its pitch on health, using athletes and wellness messaging—only for consumers to later realize “these are not healthy products in the way that we tend to think of healthy.”
• Impossible Foods: Emphasized climate impact instead of personal health.
• Key Issue: As ultra-processed foods, both products eventually faced skepticism from consumers seeking “clean” and “natural” options.

Notable Quote:
“Beyond really leaned into the health messaging…But what became clear was that Beyond Meat and Impossible are what we now are very familiar with as ultra-processed foods.”
—Dina Shanker (11:03, 12:22)

4. Business Struggles and Meme Stock Mania (14:52–18:58)

• Beyond Meat’s 2019 IPO was a sensation, peaking near $240/share, but by 2026 is trading near $1.
  • October 2025: Temporary spike as a “meme stock,” detached from fundamentals, left latecomer investors burnt (15:31–16:23).
  • Persistent rumors of bankruptcy, offset by financial maneuvers (diluted shares, debt swaps), but revenue remains stagnant.
  • Public denial of bankruptcy rumors—“Recent media stories suggesting that Beyond Meat filed for bankruptcy are unequivocally false...” (17:34)

Notable Quote:
“It was like watching this, like, funny thing happen and knowing it was pretty much irrelevant to the future of the company. The company has to make products that people want to buy.”
—Dina Shanker (16:37)

5. Comparing Corporate Trajectories: Beyond Meat vs. Impossible Foods (18:58–24:30)

• Impossible Foods remains private—possibly a “smart move,” as going public amidst Beyond’s woes could be financially risky.
• Impossible has better retained crucial restaurant partnerships (e.g., Impossible Whopper at Burger King, Starbucks), while Beyond has lost major accounts (Carl’s Jr., Del Taco, McDonald’s U.S.).
• On ingredients: Impossible doubled down on GMO soy and heme, accepting the “tech food” mantle. Beyond chose non-GMO pea protein, but “pea protein…has a much earthier taste,” and the non-GMO appeal may not have helped.
• Both companies’ attempts at “cleaner” ingredient lists vs. public perception.

Notable Quote:
“The problem with that is that a lot of the time the same people that are looking for a non-GMO product are also the same people that are looking for a non-ultra processed food product...so maybe all of this together has contributed to Impossible doing better than Beyond.”
—Dina Shanker (23:07)

6. Running a Food Company Like a Tech Startup: Overpromising and Underdelivering (24:30–26:11)

• Ethan Brown’s (Beyond Meat CEO) vision was perhaps too ambitious for rapid food innovation: “You have to be honest with yourself and realistic about what is achievable...he absolutely overpromised and underdelivered.”
• Early hype and promises of health benefits could not be matched in practice, eroding consumer trust.

7. The Real-World Experience: The Niche Market Reality (26:43–28:15)

• Even ideal consumers (“the kind of person that Beyond and Impossible would have hoped they could win over”) often don’t eat these products regularly—due to ultra-processing and limited “healthy” appeal.
• Personal anecdote: “...I got one [Impossible Whopper] on the road...and it was delicious...then I was like, oh my god, I feel terrible.” (27:43–28:11)

The Online Backlash: Disinformation & Culture Wars

8. Smear Campaigns and Online Narratives (28:34–34:32)

• Investigative journalist Clint Rainey describes the growing “anti-fake meat” movement among online wellness influencers, often reciting “21 to 22” ingredients—suggesting coordinated messaging (31:13).

• Rick Berman and the Center for Consumer Freedom emerge as arch-antagonists:

  • Previously worked to defend Big Tobacco and fast food companies, using playful or satirical ads to rally consumers against “nanny” groups.
  • Created the “Clean Food Facts” site and ran Super Bowl ads touting “chemical laxatives” in fake meat (35:00).

Notable Moment:
Super Bowl ad:
“Methylcellulose, it's a chemical laxative that is also used in synthetic meat…You probably need a PhD to even read the ingredient list.” (35:00–35:19)

9. Was It Really a Psyop? (35:42–36:51)

• Rainey concludes that Berman’s group laid “brilliant groundwork,” making it easy for influencers to pick up and spread their talking points.
• Plant-based companies and their supporters lacked punchy counters—“even vegans…would perhaps not know how to respond to that sort of a claim.” (36:29–36:51)

10. Fighting Back: The Media War Escalates (36:51–40:00)

• Impossible’s response: a satirical ad on YouTube about “poop” in ground beef—funny, but with less reach than the Super Bowl spots.
• Beyond Meat released a documentary ("Planting Change") highlighting their cleaner, avocado oil-laced products, but it “didn’t have the teeth” for viral impact.

11. The Culture Shift and Industry Future (40:00–43:05)

• New Impossible CEO Peter McGinnis claimed the sector became “too political, too woke” and lost mainstream appeal. The company is now testing a “hybrid burger” (half beef, half plant) to shift the narrative.
  • Quote: “Impossible is in the middle right now of looking into a hybrid burger that would be half beef, according to the way that Peter has described it.” (41:26)
• Rainey’s verdict: “In the end…the sort of question about who won at the end of this is no one.”
  • The online war may have slowed Beyond and Impossible, but Big Meat didn’t necessarily “win” either.

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• "Every veggie burger had been kind of like a soy mush patty...there was nothing that really felt like it was really competing with a beef burger."
  —Dina Shanker (03:14)

• "Beyond really leaned into the health messaging...But what became clear was that Beyond Meat and Impossible are what we now are very familiar with as ultra-processed foods."
  —Dina Shanker (11:03, 12:22)

• "It was like watching this, like, funny thing happen and knowing it was pretty much irrelevant to the future of the company."
  —Dina Shanker, on the meme stock spike (16:37)

• "The problem with that is that a lot of the time the same people that are looking for a non-GMO product are also the same people that are looking for a non-ultra processed food product..."
  —Dina Shanker (23:07)

• “Rick Berman's past is a fascinating one... He's just a gun for hire. And the people who had hired him were the likes of Big Tobacco, ultimately Big Meat...”
  —Clint Rainey (32:34)

• "I guess I kind of feel like in the end the sort of question about who won at the end of this is no one."
  —Clint Rainey (43:02)

Major Segments & Timestamps

• Origins & Initial Buzz (02:10–06:28)
• Consumer Base & Marketing (08:54–13:36)
• Biz Struggles and Meme Stock Moment (14:52–18:58)
• Corporate Strategies & Ingredients (18:58–24:30)
• Culture War & Disinformation (28:34–40:00)
• Cultural Shift, Future Outlook (40:00–43:05)

Conclusion

This episode of Business Wars paints the saga of Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods as a microcosm of modern business: tech startup aspirations meet the gritty realities of food production, distribution, and cultural acceptance. Hopes of transforming the food landscape collided with Wall Street volatility, problematic marketing, and the power of coordinated online opposition. As the dust settles, both brands still face existential questions—while meat industry lobbyists and online influencers alter culture and business alike. Ultimately, the battle leaves no clear winner, only a cautionary tale for the next food revolution.

For further reporting, visit:

• Dina Shanker’s stories at Bloomberg.com
• Clint Rainey’s articles at Fast Company