Beyond Meat's frozen chicken strips were the product that brought the company to life, but ultimately it was its first major product failure. That tells the market something about the future of plant-based proteins.
A suspicious shortage in grocery stores earlier this year was followed by an FAQ page from the lab-based food company in mid-April stating, "Unfortunately, our Chicken Strips weren't delivering the same plant-based meat experience as some of our more popular products."
There was no vegan trumpeter playing "Taps," and it is easy to forget that the frozen chicken product was what brought Beyond Meat to life. The chicken was developed over the course of 20 years by University of Missouri professors Harold Huff and Fu-Hung Hsieh, according to the. The formula — which includes soy powder, gluten-free flour, carrot fiber and other ingredients — is mixed and sent through an extruding machine to create a finished product with a similar taste and texture to chicken.
Beyond Meat founder and CEO Ethan Brown was so impressed with the pair's work that he decided to license the formula from them. The company launched Beyond Chicken Strips in 2012, and by 2013 the product could be found in Whole Foods stores across the nation.
"The thick strands ... didn't precisely resemble chicken strips, and when I tasted them unadulterated I found it bland, unexciting and not very chicken-like," former New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman wrote in a
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