Serve Love: Beyond Meat Introduces ‘Heart-Healthy’ Cookbook & New Sausages As Part of IV Platform

Beyond Meat has extended its Beyond IV platform to include its sausage lineup, alongside an online recipe book in collaboration with the American Heart Association.

Californian plant-based leader Beyond Meat has introduced the fourth iteration of its sausage lineup, which features a cleaner ingredient list, less saturated fat, and slightly more protein.

The sausages are part of the Beyond IV platform introduced in February, which saw the brand overhaul the recipes for its plant-based beef mince and burger, eschewing coconut and canola oils and adding avocado oil instead. The move came as the company upped its nutrition focus, in response to slowing sales, evolving consumer needs, and misinformation about the health impacts of meat analogues.

Now, its two flavours of sausages – Brat Original and Hot Italian – have joined the list, also featuring avocado oil and a host of nutritional improvements. A Mild Italian-Style flavour is slated for launch this summer, which will likely replace the Sweet Italian Style in the current Beyond Sausage range.

The new sausages are being positioned as having “enhanced flavour and a meatier texture” alongside their health credentials, addressing the three key consumer pain points when it comes to plant-based meat.

Complementing the launch is a new online cookbook called Serve Love, which features 30 recipes certified by the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Heart-Check programme, and was announced by Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown to investors in the company’s latest earnings call. It was there that he’d also revealed that a new heart-healthy product launch was on the cards this year.

Better-performing than conventional sausages

The new Beyond Sausages have a number of health enhancements. They have 66% less saturated fat per serving (2g for the new sausages vs 6g for the old), slightly more protein (17g vs 16g), 9% less sodium (530mg vs 480mg for the Hot Italian flavour), and over 12% fewer calories (210 vs 240).

Like all of Beyond Meat’s product launches this year – the reformulated mince, burger and crumbles – the sausages also carry accreditation from the American Diabetes Association’s Better Choices for Life programme.

“The new Beyond Sausage is incredibly juicy, meaty, and delicious, and I love that it’s made with heart-healthy avocado oil, helping to lower the saturated fat to just 2g per link,” said Joy Bauer, renowned dietitian and nutrition advisor to Beyond Meat. “Plus, it has less sodium than the previous version and features a simplified ingredient list. Beyond Meat is truly pioneering the future of superior plant-based meat products.”

While the ingredient list may have been simplified, the new sausages still contain between 26 and 28 ingredients (minus the casing). That said, most of the composition is dominated by six ingredients – water, pea protein, avocado oil, rice protein, natural flavours, and methylcellulose – with the rest appearing in concentrations of 2% or less.

The Hot Italian sausage also carries the Clean Label Project certification, which was part of its latest beef products too. However, the initiative is more focused on screening products for environmental toxins and ingredient quality than the actual number of ingredients.

That said, the new links are still much better for you than conventional pork sausages, given they contain over 66% less saturated fat, up to 43% less sodium, and over 30% fewer calories (based on USDA data). The Beyond sausages also contain an equivalent amount of protein (17g vs 18.5g for a pork link).

Early testing has been favourable for the new sausages. “Consumers love the new Beyond Sausage, even preferring the taste over our previous version,” a Beyond Meat spokesperson told Green Queen. “It’s easy to make something taste good, it’s much harder to make it taste good and be healthier, and we’re really proud of everything we accomplished with the new Beyond Sausage.”

New cookbook comes ahead of marketing campaign

The plant-based sausages are rolling out in new gold packaging at retailers across the US, and were launched in Love County, Oklahoma via an event where Beyond Meat served recipes from its new cookbook, as part of a collaboration between the company’s in-house culinary team and Bauer.

Brown teased the recipe book in the earnings call last month, where much of the discussion revolved around the company’s pivot towards focusing on the health credentials of its products. The CEO explained that Beyond Meat’s product development process relies upon a framework called FAAT, “for flavour, aroma, appearance, and texture, while driving improvements in nutrition, cost, and other considerations”.

He said the team “delivered a home run and improved sensory experience with a nutritional build – so impressive that it goes to market with a host of important validations”.

The cookbook contains recipes ranging from small plates and soups to bowls, burgers, and noodles. Some highlights include Vietnamese spring rolls with Beyond Steak, a Philly cheesesteak, mushroom bolognese with Beyond Crumbles, Beyond Beef tostadas, and paella with the new Beyond Sausage.

The recipes meet the AHA’s strict nutrition requirements around calories, saturated fat, sodium and added sugar. “Health is a top driver to the plant-based meat category, and we’re proud to deliver on that expectation with a growing portfolio of products that are not only absolutely delicious but that offer significant nutritional benefits,” said Beyond Meat CMO Akerho Oghoghomeh.

The plant-based meat giant will continue to serve the Love County community with activations and programmes including a partnership with the local food bank.

Customer feedback ‘positive’ for health-forward Beyond IV products

Beyond Meat has registered sales declines for eight consecutive quarters, but slightly exceeded analysts’ expectations in the first quarter of this year. The company remains optimistic, reiterating its full-year net revenue forecast of $315-345M. “We really do believe that we are at the early stages of a terrific and pivotal year for Beyond Meat,” said Brown, who is banking on the Beyond IV lineup to turn its fortunes around.

Asked how the new offerings are performing, the company representative said: “We’ve been getting a lot of positive response and feedback from consumers, as well as from the health and nutrition community on our new Beyond IV products. It’s exciting to see the new products roll into supermarkets nationwide just in time for the summer grilling season.”

Later this summer, the company is expected to launch an “impactful and significant” marketing drive to promote its fourth-generation products. “We believe – as do the nutritionists, institutions and dietitians standing behind Beyond IV – that we offer consumers a delicious yet powerful choice that can help them and their loved ones with healthier lives,” Brown said last month.

For the rest of the year, health seems to be the prime focus for Beyond Meat, as highlighted by its spokesperson, who told Green Queen: “We are excited to continue introducing our tastiest and most nutritious products yet that have garnered the support of the leading health organisations while also continuing to educate consumers on the health benefits of our products.”