• by Sarah Mahoney , Yesterday

Beyond, the plant-based food company, is hoping to bring a little New York Knicks-style energy to its ailing product portfolio. It named Josh Hart, recently called “the Knick’s beating heart” by the New York Times, as the face of Beyond Immerse, the company’s first functional beverage line, as it rolls out through New York’s retail and food service outlets.

The company has been experimenting with a new way to develop products and started by introducing Beyond Immerse through limited direct-to-consumer drops, then gathering feedback. It says that approach has led to a reimagined beverage line with refreshed taste, bold new packaging and benefits that go beyond traditional protein drinks.

The sparkling drink blends plant protein from peas, fiber from tapioca, antioxidants and electrolytes, delivering 20g of protein, 7g of fiber, and 100 calories, and comes in Peach Mango, Strawberry Lemonade and Cherry Berry. Beyond also says it is the first ready-to-drink protein beverage to earn Clean Label Project Verification.

The company, based in El Segundo, California, is supporting Beyond Immerse with a campaign that includes experiential and social touchpoints with New York fitness studios and brands.

Remember when everyone was talking about Beyond’s burgers and nuggets? When celebrity investors included people like Bill Gates, Lindsey Vonn and Leonardo DiCaprio? When it was 2019’s hottest IPO? Neither does anybody else. Between the meat-loving protein mania, driven as much by gym-dwelling bros as by GLP-1 users, and the Make America Healthy Again backlash against processed food, Beyond’s sales have withered.

In the most recent quarterly results, sales fell another 15.3% to $58.2 million, with a loss of $28.5 million. And its stock price, which peaked at $234 per share in 2019, now sells for about 77 cents.

The company is making big changes to reverse the slide, including rebranding as Beyond The Plant Protein Co., shortened to Beyond on its packaging, dropping the word “meat” entirely.

In announcing the quarterly results, Beyond president and CEO Ethan Brown said the company is decisively broadening to include the rapidly growing functional food and beverage category. “Even as we apply our brand, expertise and technology to adjacent markets, we remain highly focused on the performance of our core business, which we believe will deliver substantial long-term value,” he said.

That won’t be easy. Last year, the Good Food Institute reported that dollar sales of plant-based meat and seafood fell 10% to $1 billion, while conventional meat and seafood climbed 5%.