Vegan Brand Beyond Meat Confirms Plans for 2018 UK Expansion

Beyond Meat’s executive chairman, Seth Goldman, has confirmed plans to expand into the UK in the first quarter of 2018. Goldman has yet to reveal the finer details but he is in contact with a number of people regarding the move across the Atlantic.

I can tell you it’s a… great list… of the kind of folks we would hope to connect with,’ says Goldman. However, when prompted, he confirmed that they will be focussing on retail, although they are also in talks with members of the foodservice industry.

Beyond Meat has had great success in the US since its launch, partnering with Kroger earlier this year to make their burgers available across the country.

The brand is currently available in Hong Kong also, but Beyond Meat wants to take a ‘much more strategic, holistic’ approach to the UK. ‘ In the case of the UK, we have strategically decided this is a priority market. We want to find significant partners to go to sale quickly,’ says Goldman.

Goldman has been a businessman for many years, but he thinks that Beyond Meat is something different and special. ‘There’s just such a tailwind around plant-based protein. There’s so much interest and excitement…If we were starting this ten, 15 years ago, we would have had a much harder time convincing them to carry this in the meat section but they get it and they’ve jumped at it,’ he says.

The UK eagerly awaits the news as to where Beyond Meat will be available.