A looming problem has plagued Beyond Meat for years. Here's how the CEO says it plans to deal with demand as rival Impossible Foods faces shortages.
- Beyond Meat dealt with Beyond Burger shortages in 2017 and 2018 as the chain struggled to keep up with demand - a problem rival Impossible Foods is facing now.
- The meat-substitute company rebuilt its supply chain in the face of shortages, opening new facilities and penning new partnerships, CEO Ethan Brown told Business Insider.
- "If we were just facing that curve right now, it'd be very daunting, given the level of demand," Brown said.
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As Impossible Foods faces shortages, Beyond Meat's CEO says the company's days of struggling to meet demand are over.
This week, Impossible Foods said in a statement that it was facing shortages as it attempted to keep up with demand, soon after Burger King announced plans to take the Beyond Burger nationwide. Eater reported that some restaurants, having run out of Impossible Burgers, were seeking other plant-based options - including rival Beyond Burgers.
In the past, Beyond Meat has faced issues that are similar to what its rival is encountering now.
The meat-substitute company dealt with shortages in 2017 and 2018, with A&W locations in Canada running out of the burger last year.
On Thursday, following Beyond Meat's explosive IPO, CEO Ethan Brown said that the company dealt with shortages at the right time.
"We're now ready, because we've been through that and had to rebuild our supply chain, and had to rebuild and expand our production and our partnerships to be able to feed demand," Brown said. "We're now ready for even more growth."
Beyond Meat opened a new production facility in June 2018, tripling its manufacturing footprint. In 2018, the company grew headcount by 224% and spent $1.9 million more in supply chain expenses.
"If we were just facing that curve right now, it'd be very daunting, given the level of demand," Brown said.