I tried the new plant-based chicken burger that everyone's talking about in Singapore, and it lived up to the hype

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Beyond Meat's sales have slumped. Q4 revenues were down 20.6% and it posted a loss of $366 million in 2022.</li><li>CEO Ethan Brown attributed it to "persistently high inflation" and trading down by consumers.</li></ul>Beyond Meat's sales slumped at the end of 2022 as consumers turned away from plant-based meat substitutes.Net revenues were down <a href="https://investors.beyondmeat.com/news-releases/news-release-details/beyond-meatr-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2022-financial">$20.7 million</a>, or 20.6%, in the quarter to December 31 year-over-year. The company said it sold around 3,300 fewer pounds of its fake meat products over the time period, a drop of about 17%."The fourth quarter of 2022 ends a challenging year for our business and category, one marked by persistently high inflation and trading down by consumers among proteins, slowing economy in key markets, and increased competitive activity," CEO and founder Ethan Brown said at the company's earnings call Thursday.Despite the huge slump in sales, Beyond – which sells products including fake jerky, chicken, and sausage – <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-23/beyond-meat-jumps-after-revenue-surpasses-wall-street-estimates?srnd=markets-vp">still beat Wall Street sales estimates</a>."It seems reasonable that consumers may retreat from protein that can be 2x the price of its animal-based equivalent during periods of intense inflation and reduced buying power, and that a reduction in price given this dynamic would spur increased consumption," Brown said.In the year to January, the price of food for at-home consumption increased 11.3%, according to data from the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t02.htm">US Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>. Meat prices weren't hit as hard as other grocery categories.In the US, sales of Beyond's products to restaurants took the biggest hit, falling 30% year-over-year for the fourth quarter. Restaurants made up 25.8% of its US fourth-quarter sales, compared to more than half of its sales in international markets. It supplies chains including McDonald's, where it provides its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcplant-mcdonalds-review-vegan-compare-quarter-pounder-food-beyond-burger-2021-11">McPlant patties</a> and nuggets, and some Pizza Hut restaurants.The US accounted for 72.5% of Beyond's sales in 2022 by revenue. Beyond posted a net loss of $366 million in 2022, compared to $182 million in 2021. The company previously announced <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beyond-meat-cuts-jobs-coo-stock-drops-2022-10">plans to cut costs</a>, including layoffs.According to Brown, the three major obstacles faced by the plant-based meat industry are taste, understanding of health benefits, and price."My belief is that as we continue to get taste right and continue to get the health message right and then reduce that price barrier, it will grow the category," Brown said.Consultancy giant Deloitte noted in a September <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/retail-distribution/future-of-fresh-food-sales/plant-based-meat-sales.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> that plant-based meat sales were dipping. "With inflation, fewer people are willing to pay a price premium," the report said, adding that its research found willingness to pay a premium for plant-based meat dropped 9% over a year. Information Resources Inc data cited by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-26/vegan-meat-sales-fall-with-high-prices-wokeness-turning-off-shoppers">Bloomberg</a> shows that sales by volume of refrigerated meat alternatives at retailers fell 10.5% in the year to September 4.<div type="image" title="Beyond Steak by Beyond Meat" height="3000" width="3000" msid="98213835" hostid="261" sizebytes="213226"></div>Meat-alternative companies are increasingly venturing beyond sausages and burgers to develop substitutes for other types of protein. Beyond introduced plant-based steak in October, but it can be a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/juicy-marbles-plant-based-filet-mignon-review-photos-vegan-steak-2022-5">difficult product to create</a> because of issues with replicating the texture of steak. Beyond also offers some plant-based chicken products, including tenders and popcorn chicken. Andre Menezes, the CEO of plant-based chicken maker Tindle, previously told Insider that that the market has huge potential because of a lack of major global players combined with the huge potential market of chicken eaters.The UN <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/cb5332en/Meat.pdf">notes</a> that meat consumption "has been shifting towards poultry," which is expected to represent 41% of all protein from meat sources in 2030.

Beyond Meat sales slumped because people are eating less fake meat, and the company says it gets why

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="27226" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Orlando-Bloom">Orlando Bloom</keyword> shared his morning routine during an interview with The Sunday Times. </li><li>Bloom said he starts his day with 20 minutes of Buddhist chanting and a hike to "earn" breakfast.</li><li>He described his routine as "quite LA."</li></ul>The British <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/orlando-bloom-on-life-with-katy-perry-and-their-new-baby-daisy-xjp63fb37">newspaper The Sunday Times</a> published an interview with Orlando Bloom over the weekend in which the "<keyword id="14709" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Pirates-of-the-Caribbean">Pirates of the Caribbean</keyword>" star shared insight into his life as a father as well as intricate details about his morning routine, which left many fans confused over whether the interview was a parody.During the interview, Bloom says his daily routine, which he describes as "quite LA," starts with 20 minutes of Buddhist chanting. "I chant for 20 minutes every day, religiously. I've had a Buddhist practice since I was 16, so that's infiltrated my whole being. I'll read a bit of Buddhism and then I'll type it up and add it to my [Instagram] Stories," he said.The actor then said he likes to "earn" his breakfast, which he does via a hike where he listens to "some Nirvana or Stone Temple Pilots.""I'll just have some green powders that I mix with brain octane oil, a collagen powder for my hair and nails, and some protein. It's all quite LA, really," he said.<div type="image" title="ellie goulding wedding katy perry orlando bloom " height="2625" width="3281" msid="81632902" hostid="261"></div>He continues: "By 9 a.m., it's breakfast, which is usually porridge, a little hazelnut milk, cinnamon, vanilla paste, hazelnuts, goji berries, a vegan protein powder, and a cup of PG Tips [tea]. I'm 90 percent plant-based, so I'll only eat a really good piece of red meat maybe once a month. I sometimes look at a cow and think, that's the most beautiful thing ever."Later during the interview, Bloom spoke about his workday, which starts with brainstorming ideas for his production company, which is under an exclusive production deal with Amazon. "I spend a lot of my time dreaming about roles for myself and others - for minorities and women. I'm trying to be a voice for everybody," he said."I had this remarkable opening chapter to my career, for which I was only semi-present. Without my Buddhist practice, I could have easily come off the rails."The interview quickly began to trend on social media with many readers taken by Bloom's eclectic routines and his ambitious production goals.Dan Barker tweeted: "Genuinely thought the Orlando Bloom interview in The Sunday Times was a spoof. Is it really not? "<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-dan barker (@danbarker) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1373544161857699840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2021</a></blockquote>Another person, highlighting Bloom's production goals, said: "I admire "myself, minorities and women" as the categories of people to advance!"<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="none">-Sunder Katwala (@sundersays) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1373536988494757888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2021</a></blockquote>However, much of the discussion around the interview was focused on Bloom's singular diet. One person shared the passage where he discusses his breakfast accompanied by an image of Christian Bale from the 2000 satirical horror film "American Psycho."<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Viv Heaton (@viv_heaton) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1373640145321263104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2021</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Hannah Tindle (@hannahtindle) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1373645939345342468?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2021</a></blockquote>

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I tried the new plant-based chicken burger that everyone's talking about in Singapore, and it lived up to the hype

Katie Warren

Beyond Meat sales slumped because people are eating less fake meat, and the company says it gets why

Grace Dean

Orlando Bloom's 'very LA' daily routine involving 'brain octane oil' has fans questioning whether it's a parody

Zac Ntim