Nonetheless, Beyond Meat is already looking to mix up its ingredients list.
“Pea protein is an amazing resource for us, it works well, but there’s nothing particularly special about it,” Chief Executive Officer Ethan Brown says. “If you think about the plant kingdom, there are so many other stocks we can use—mung bean, brown rice, mustard seed, lentils. We will have a much more diverse bench of proteins.”
Using a variety of ingredients, he says, will give the company’s products a “more varied bite” and a texture that’s closer to animal meat.
Not too long ago, soy ruled the plant-based kingdom, becoming the go-to base of many well-known meatless products, like Morningstar Farms Grillers veggie burgers, Lightlife’s Gimme Lean sausage and Gardein Chick’n Strips. But over the past several years, food trends have turned against it. While soy is easier to buy than pea protein, it’s also an allergen, is often genetically modified and has been the victim of conflicting headlines about health risks.
In the U.S., 30% of consumers ages 18 to 34 say they or someone in their household is avoiding soy, according to data compiled by Mintel for the American Pulse Association.
Ripple uses peas, its founders says, because they’re the most available plant protein that isn’t soy.
“Soy just has a bad consumer rap for no good reason,” co-founder Adam Lowry says. There is nothing keeping the company from using soy for products in other countries that do not have an aversion, like in Asia, they says.
And soy certainly isn’t disappearing in the U.S. either: The increasingly in-demand and now gluten-free Impossible Burger uses it.
“The only reason pea protein became popular is because people didn’t want soy protein,” says Golbitz of Agromeris.
Even so, soy-loyal brands might be considering new strategies.