Business Wars – ENCORE: Beyond Meat vs Impossible Burger | Break from the Herd | Episode 4

Host: David Brown (Wondery)
Date: January 7, 2026
Theme:
This episode chronicles the embattled state of the plant-based meat industry in the 2020s, focusing on Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. The companies wrestle with plummeting sales, bruising PR crises, changing leadership, and the struggle to rebrand their products—and the entire sector—as healthy, mainstream alternatives rather than niche, “woke” options. The narrative reveals the high-stakes pivots and personal dramas behind the scenes as both brands try to survive the fight against Big Beef—and each other.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Celebrity Campaigns & PR Setbacks

Timestamp: 00:00–03:25

• Kim Kardashian’s Endorsement: Beyond Meat launches a major ad campaign with Kim Kardashian as “Chief Taste Consultant.”
  • The campaign backfires when social media users accuse Kardashian, in her Instagram video, of fake-eating the product:

    “Fans quickly pointed out she never takes an actual bite of the food” (01:26, Entertainment Tonight recap).

  • Kardashian’s PR response is to let the controversy simmer before releasing behind-the-scenes footage showing her genuinely eating, generating a second wave of attention (02:28).
  • Notable quote from Kardashian’s posted video:

    “Guys, come on.” (03:17)

Key Takeaway:

Celebrity endorsements require careful handling; mishaps can go viral but can also be spun for renewed publicity.

2. Retail Relationships and Setbacks

Timestamp: 03:25–08:22

• Beyond Meat’s McDonald’s Dream: CEO Ethan Brown visits a McDonald’s location testing the “McPlant.” Staff report strong sales (about 70-80 per day), fueling Brown’s optimism (06:00).
• Reality Check: McDonald’s USA President Joe Erlinger calls to discontinue the McPlant in U.S. stores—national sales were disappointing (06:43).

  • “I just don’t think the US consumer… is coming to McDonald’s looking for a McPlant or other plant-based proteins.” – Joe Erlinger (06:49)

• McPlant remains on menus in Europe, providing some consolation.

Key Takeaway:

Promising anecdotes from the field don’t always match aggregate national data; major partnerships can evaporate quickly, threatening strategic visions.

3. Scandal and Turmoil in Leadership

Timestamp: 08:22–11:00

• Beyond Meat Executive Meltdown: Doug Ramsey, a top exec, is arrested after biting another man’s nose in a parking garage dispute post-football game.
  • Dramatic description of Ramsey’s loss of control and subsequent battery charge.
• Layoffs and Restructuring: Beyond Meat, in the wake of a $100 million failed jerky venture with PepsiCo, prepares to lay off 19% of staff to save $39 million/year (10:45).
  • Ramsey is ultimately fired.

Key Takeaway:

Leadership instability—especially involving public scandal—can accelerate company turmoil in times of financial stress.

4. Impossible Foods’ Internal Transitions

Timestamp: 11:00–15:45

• Pat Brown Steps Down: Founder Pat Brown passes the CEO role to Peter McGinnis (formerly Chobani). Pat shifts focus and ultimately takes a leave to pursue environmental research (13:40).

  • New Vision: Pat Brown launches the Impossible Foundation to study converting cattle ranches to carbon-capturing forests and offset credits.

  • “My belief is that ranchers could make more money selling carbon offsets…than by raising cattle.” – Pat Brown (14:34)

• Layoffs at Impossible: Two rounds of layoffs and exec churn shake the company.

Key Takeaway:

As the plant-based sector matures and faces setbacks, its founders shift from visionary leadership to experimental activism, while new leadership tries to steady the brand.

5. Beyond Burger 4 Launch & Nutritional Rebrand

Timestamp: 15:45–19:12

• Development Hurdles: Ethan Brown and nutritionist Joy Bauer taste-test the in-development Beyond Burger 4 (“the healthiest ever”). Initial feedback is lukewarm, with a 7.5/10 score.

  • “Well Ethan, this is not perfect.” – Joy Bauer (16:31)

  • “The biggest reason more people aren’t eating plant based meat…is because of health questions.” – Ethan Brown (16:31)

  • Aim: Simpler ingredients, reduced saturated fat (using avocado oil), better health messaging.

• Ad Campaign: Beyond Meat pivots its narrative to stress health and environmental benefits, showing scenes of agriculture and highlighting ingredient transparency.

Key Takeaway:

Consumers’ concerns about processing and healthiness are at the core of plant-based meat’s image dilemma. The solution is transparent messaging and product reformulation.

6. Impossible’s “Anti-Woke” Rebrand

Timestamp: 19:12–25:47

• CEO Peter McGinnis’ Critical Meeting: Declares an end to the “woke,” elitist, climate-warrior positioning of plant-based meat, which he believes alienated mainstream America:

  • “There was a wokeness, there was a coastalness, there was an elitism to it…That pissed off most Americans.” – McGinnis (21:01)

  • Focus pivots to “flexitarians” (those who occasionally eat plant-based).

• New Messaging:

  • “We need to go from insulting to inviting.” – McGinnis (22:24)
  • Rebrands Impossible with bold, "muscular" packaging and mainstream messaging.

Key Takeaway:

Plant-based brands are moving away from activist, climate-forward branding to more inclusive, direct appeals to general consumers, especially meat eaters.

7. Beyond Meat Doubles Down on Health and Environment

Timestamp: 25:47–27:30

• Ethan Brown’s Voiceover for New Campaign:

  • “By increasing plant-based food consumption, you are focused on the single most powerful tool our global society has to preserve our planet, take control over our health, and support the welfare of the rest of life on this beautiful earth.” – Ethan Brown (26:07)

  • Beyond Burger 4 launches, endorsed by health associations.

Key Takeaway:

Clear, values-driven messaging—re-envisioned for a mainstream health lens—becomes the core differentiator for Beyond Meat.

8. Pat Brown’s “Ranch Redemption” Project

Timestamp: 27:30–30:31

• On their Arkansas ranch, Pat Brown and students plant trees where cattle once roamed, aiming to prove the financial and ecological value of converting ranches to carbon sinks.

  • “This ranch is a demonstration project. We’re using it to show environmental and economic good can come when you stop cattle ranching and restore the native ecosystem.” – Pat Brown (28:03)

• Pat fully transitions to research, hoping to create a new, more climate-positive model for land use.

Key Takeaway:

Plant-based pioneers begin to shift from market-based activism to scientific demonstration projects, attempting to prove new economic and environmental models.

9. Impossible’s Meat-Lover Rebrand Goes Public

Timestamp: 30:31–33:00

• Met Gala Product Placement: Impossible Foods leverages celebrity cachet with product sampling at a high-profile Pre-Met Gala event.
• Launch of New Ad Campaign: TV spots feature a burly, mustachioed man declaring, “Meat has problems and it’s going to take us meat eaters to solve them” (32:25), literally punching through traditional beef products.

  • “World, we should eat more [meat], because now we can turn plants into burgers and hot dogs.” (32:33)

  • Tagline: “Meat from plants.”
• Labels change to ‘blood red’ with grill marks, minimizing the ‘save the climate’ messaging.

Key Takeaway:

Both Impossible and Beyond aggressively court mainstream meat consumers, even as Impossible discards eco-friendly messaging for macho, indulgent branding.

10. Calls for Unity & The Struggle Ahead

Timestamp: 33:00–End

• Industry Real Talk:

  • Impossible CEO McGinnis and Ethan Brown call for less inter-brand rivalry and unified resistance to Big Beef (33:20).
  • Both companies continue to burn cash and struggle for profitability; Impossible hints at openness to acquisition.
  • Critics question if the plant-based “craze” is over, while both brands argue their strongest days are ahead.

• Final Reflection:

  • Will plant-based meat fade as a fad, or “die on the vine,” or will it be future food’s foundation?

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On viral missteps:

  “Kim Kardashian starts some Internet beef. It’s so crazy over how she eats fake meat.” – Entertainment Tonight (01:26)

• On leaving the old vision behind:

  “That’s what plant Based Meat has been and that’s not what we’re going to be anymore.” – Peter McGinnis (21:01)

• On the ‘fight back’ spirit:

  “It’s time that we fight back against Big Beef’s propaganda campaign.” – Ethan Brown (18:44)

• On inviting meat eaters:

  “We need to go from insulting to inviting.” – Peter McGinnis (22:24)

• On the state of the industry:

  “Both companies are burning cash and losing money, and some think their industry is just a fading fad.” – David Brown (33:23)

Important Timestamps

• 00:00–03:25 – Kim Kardashian campaign mishap and response
• 05:33–06:49 – Ethan learns McPlant will be discontinued stateside
• 08:22–11:00 – Doug Ramsey nose-biting incident and Beyond’s layoffs
• 13:40–15:20 – Pat Brown’s environmental carbon project begins
• 15:55–17:07 – Beyond Burger 4 taste test with Joy Bauer
• 19:12–22:24 – Impossible Foods’ “anti-woke” internal pivot meeting
• 25:47–26:42 – Ethan Brown’s new campaign voiceover
• 27:30–30:31 – Pat Brown’s ranch carbon capture demonstration
• 31:01–33:00 – Impossible’s new “meat from plants” ad at Met Gala
• 33:00–End – Ongoing financial struggles, calls for unity, open questions about plant-based meat’s future

Summary

This episode offers a vivid, sometimes wryly humorous look at the inside fractures, reinventions, and existential struggles of two companies—and a whole industry—once hailed as the future of food. As glossy celebrity endorsements fall flat, executive scandals press headlines, and plant-based messaging pivots dramatically from eco-activism to mainstream muscle, Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods chart uncertain paths for survival, racing to see if they can convince America’s flexitarians—and its meat lovers—to put something new at the center of their plate. Whether these brands will remain rivals, merge forces, or wither altogether is left an open question, but not without a fighting spirit.