Is the alt-meat craze over?
CPG and Retail news from the week of 6/9/25
Hello hello!
We got a fun edition for you, covering Impossible Meat’s potential move to real beef, more on the David lawsuit, and Target launching an Expo West competitor!
But before we get into it, if you’re in NYC this Friday come grab a coffee on your way to work! Brandon Blum and I are hosting a coffee meetup with Terra Kaffe and Siena AI!
Now, let’s get into it —>
Crush Prime Day with Settle!
Prime Day can either be your biggest sales driver… or your biggest operational headache.
Most CPG brands go in underprepared. They under-forecast, overorder, or tie up too much cash in inventory. That’s a tough place to be when payouts are delayed and suppliers want payment upfront.
Settle helps you plan ahead and move fast.
Here’s how:
Track your true landed costs before you set pricing
Forecast Prime Day demand based on data, not gut feel
Fund your POs now and pay later
Thread Wallets used Settle to stay stocked, meet wholesale demand, and avoid dilution at a critical time!
If Prime Day is on your radar, now’s the time to prep your systems and cash flow.
News From the Week
This week, Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness hinted at a dramatic pivot that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago: creating a "hybrid burger that's 50% beef" to capture flexitarian consumers. For a company whose entire mission was to eliminate animal products, this represents a pretty wild shift in strategy.
So why pivot away from plant-based? It’s all in the numbers: US plant-based meat sales fell 7% to $1.2 billion in 2024, with unit sales down 11%. Market share remains stuck at just 1.7% of total packaged meat sales—hardly the revolution we anticipated only ~5 years ago.
The alt-meat graveyard keeps growing:
Meati Foods: Raised $365M total, including a $100 million Series C1 round in 2024. After losing most of its cash reserves, the company sold for just $4M—a dramatic fall from its previous $650 million valuation.
Hooray Foods: Raised $4M+, including a $2.7 million extension round. Shut down in 2023, citing that "economics simply do not match our revenue"
Nowadays: Raised nearly $10M, including a $7 million seed round. They shut down in 2023 as well
…and the most spectacular collapse? Beyond Meat, whose stock cratered from $234.90 at its 2019 peak to around $3 today—a 98% decline. The company that once boasted a $3.77 billion market cap after its blockbuster IPO is now worth just $240 million.
So what went wrong here? A few things…
Tech valuations for food companies: Investors treated these brands like software startups, not CPG businesses. Beyond Meat's IPO saw it priced at tech multiples, surging 163% on day one. Traditional food companies don't—and shouldn't—trade like that.
The price problem: Plant-based meats remain 82% more expensive than conventional meat. During inflation, that's a dealbreaker.
Marketing misfires: Impossible and others pushed health benefits when the real story was sustainability. Consumers felt duped when they discovered these ultra-processed products weren't healthier.
Taste reality: Despite years of R&D, McGuinness admits Impossible's beef still isn't superior to the real thing, needing "two to three" more iterations.
If you’re a major plant-based brand looking at this slew of factors, you’re either shaking in your boots…or plotting your pivot. Now, it looks like Impossible is swinging for the latter. And if the company learned anything from its main competitor, “healthifying” its products simply won’t cut it.
Cue: Real meat.
It may sound counterintuitive, but... while pure plant-based brands struggled with the all-or-nothing proposition, blended products (30-70% plants) are winning over omnivores through enhancement rather than replacement. If Impossible does it right, it could be really successful. Here’s why:
It’s already happening. Lidl Netherlands launched blended minced meat with pea protein, Nestlé introduced plant-beef blends in Chile, and Australian startup Harvest B is prepping 50/50 blends for U.S. expansion. In the US brands like BOTH have seen success with a 50% beef, 50% all-natural veggies burger.
“If I were Impossible, I’d look to partner with a company like ours. They risk cannibalizing their own plant-based brand equity by jumping into the blended/balanced protein market. It’s a tough pivot for a company that’s spent years telling consumers they don’t need meat.” - Andrew Arentowicz, Co-founder/CEO 50/50 Foods
Research backs it up, showing that beef blends with mushrooms rival pure beef for taste, juiciness, and texture in blind tastings.
Now, with profitability "years away" and IPO plans shelved, actual beef may be the secret ingredient for this plant-based company to survive.
We (AKA Jenna…) were especially nerdy about this story, and decided to go one step further to learn more about this "blended meat” business. We reached out to the pros over at Food System Innovations, a philanthropic impact platform focused on the humane and sustainable future of food, and got the low-down on this burgeoning category from their Category Innovation Director, Tim Dale. Check it out here!
CPG & Consumer Goods
Now her hair won’t lie! Shakira launched a haircare brand, Isima, inspired by and for her Latin roots (literally). The line includes several products including a shampoo, curl corrector, peptide mask, and conditioner—all of which are clinically proven and, so far, well-received.
The celebrity haircare boom is already in full swing…
Jennifer Aniston launched LolaVie in September 2021 and recently expanded to Ulta Beauty at Target
Beyoncé launched Cécred in early 2024, which quickly became a bestseller and is now available at over 1,400 Ulta Beauty stores nationwide.
Blake Lively launched her hair care line Blake Brown in 2024, but the reception has been rocky—consumers haven’t exactly fallen in love with the products, and the brand is currently embroiled in legal controversy.
Issa Rae joined Sienna Naturals as co-founder in 2020
Owen Wilson became the face of California Naturals back in 2024
A celeb in her own right. Alli Webb, founder of Drybar, launched a new hair product line called Messy. The line includes various styling products and will be available DTC and at Sephora starting June 24.
Bringing the spa home. Glowbar launched its first skin care product, the Expert Cleanser, aimed at expanding its brand beyond monthly facial services (fun fact: they’re going to offer over 300,000 facials in 2025 alone). The cleanser will be available at Glowbar locations and online, with plans for a broader product line in the future.
I had a chance to try it and it’s a really nice product! I like the willow bark for gentle exfoliation which is great before a shave or getting off sunscreen and sweat after a long day. - N
We can’t go a week without added protein. Califia Farms launched a new ready-to-drink protein vanilla almond latte, containing 10 grams of pea protein and 5 grams of sugar per serving.
Speaking of protein…Last week we shared that David Protein is facing a lawsuit over antitrust violations after they acquired Epogee, which produces a key fat replacer ingredient called EPG. Peter Rahal and his team have fired back, calling it "nothing but a case of bad business planning" and arguing the plaintiffs failed to secure long-term supply contracts for an ingredient they claim is critical to their business.
From our POV, it seems like the way David is handling this situation is less than admirable. We spoke with one of the plaintiffs—a fitness influencer developing a low-calorie sauce with EPG—who told us they were never warned about potential shortages. The timeline from learning about the acquisition to refusing to honor existing purchase orders happened remarkably quickly.
eCommerce
Dog or AI assistant? Walmart launched Sparky, a generative AI-powered assistant in its mobile app, designed to provide users with occasion-based recommendations and insights. The assistant will soon include features like reordering and service bookings, as well as the ability to understand various input types.
Of course Amazon also has an AI-powered shopping assistant with a dog’s name, Rufus, which launched in Sept 2024.
Guess same-day is not fast enough. Amazon introduced three AI innovations aimed at improving package delivery: Wellspring, a generative AI mapping technology that enhances delivery location accuracy; an AI-powered demand forecasting model; and agentic AI capabilities for robotics that allow robots to understand natural language commands.
Retail
Can’t find your fave snacks? This might be why. A major cyberattack hit UNFI, one of the country's largest food distributors and Whole Foods' primary supplier, causing significant shortages at stores nationwide. The attack disrupted distribution and has led to empty shelves and operational challenges at various locations. The full impact of the attack on the food supply chain still remains unclear.
The next Expo West? Target is set to host its first Wellness Innovation Summit on September 4 at its Minneapolis headquarters, focusing on attracting new and trending wellness brands across various categories. The event will provide an opportunity for new suppliers to pitch their offerings to Target.
It's tough to be a Department store! Saks Global has apparently resolved issues with vendors (re: late payments) and plans to keep its stores open after speculation of closure. The company secured $350 million in financing to support holiday stocking and is confident in its liquidity and future business opportunities, despite concerns from luxury brands about its financial stability and tariff impacts.
Lowe’s Paid Me to Build the Craziest Backyard Ever! Lowe's launched its first home improvement creator network, featuring MrBeast (for some reason) and other influencers, to engage better with younger audiences. The network (with over 17,000 creators already enrolled) allows creators to share DIY projects and earn revenue through customizable storefronts linked to Lowes.com.
Funding news
The sauce is COOKING. Sauz, a Gen-Z founded pasta sauce brand, has secured a $12 million investment led by CAVU Consumer Partners. The company plans to expand its retail presence and introduce SKUs, building on its impressive 148% revenue growth and 250% increase in online sales.
This is a great example of what smart innovation looks like. Don’t reinvent the wheel—instead, take a “boring” category, like pasta sauce, and just give it a little zhuzh (read: killer branding, fun—but not totally out-there—flavors, and a fantastic social presence). - J
The future of seafood. Shinkei Systems has raised $22 million in Series A funding, co-led by Founders Fund and Interlagos, to enhance its Seremoni Grade™ seafood brand, which utilizes robotics and humane fishing methods to deliver high-quality, sustainable seafood.
Another protein win. Equip Foods, a brand specializing in real food supplements and known for its flagship grass-fed beef protein powder, has received a significant investment from HighPost Capital.
Weekly Pickups
This week we spoke with the founder of Act+Acre, Helen Reavey! Helen shared her favorite supplement—and it was an immediate add-to-cart for us. Check it out and make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss our next edition! Read it here 👇
Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss our next edition!
The response from Peter and his team is 😬😬😬