Beyond Meat Shrinks Name To ‘Beyond’ As Sales Slide, Layoffs Hit

With sales down 20% and layoffs hitting 6% of its workforce, Beyond Meat is acknowledging that its moment in the plant-based spotlight has faded — at least for now. The company, which is cutting about 44 jobs, says it needs “a fundamental reset for our brand and category,” according to president and CEO Ethan Brown.

To lead that reset, Beyond has tapped John Boken of consulting firm AlixPartners as interim chief transformation officer. It’s also leaning into a shorter name — “Beyond” — in a bid to shed some of the baggage around meat imitation.

“We believe it provides for reduced emphasis on facsimile,” Brown told investors on a webcast, referring to the “complicated frame” of animal protein replication. He said the streamlined name could also help “widen our aperture beyond animal protein replicates” and into broader consumer protein needs.

Beyond Meat Shrinks Name To ‘Beyond’ As Sales Slide, Layoffs Hit 08/08/2025