Beyond Meat taking longer to pay its bills as plant-based sales plunge

Dive Brief:

• Beyond Meat is taking longer to pay its bills as the beleaguered plant-based meat company struggles amid a prolonged drop in sales, according to information shared with Food Dive.
• Data from Creditsafe showed Beyond Meat’s days beyond terms (DBT), or how long a company takes to pay its bills after the due date, has more than doubled during the past twelve months. Delays increased from eight days in August 2024 to 19 days in July of this year. The industry average is 12 days.
• Media reports have indicated the company could soon run out of money. Beyond Meat denied the claim, with a spokesperson telling Food Dive that “we have not filed nor are we planning to file for bankruptcy.”

Dive Insight:

Once the darling of the plant-based food space, Beyond Meat has suffered a precipitous decline in sales as consumer consumption plunges. Economic uncertainty and concerns over the processed nature of the offerings has pushed shoppers toward cheaper animal options.

Beyond Meat had cash and cash equivalents of $103 million as of June 28, compared to $132 million at the end of 2024, the company said in its most recent earnings release. In May, the company raised $100 million from a plant-based nonprofit, providing the alternative meat company with much-needed cash.

Creditsafe estimated that Beyond Meat had $1.2 billion in debt. Around half of its outstanding bills were between 1 and 30 days past due in July, compared to roughly a third in September of 2024. 

“This increasing delay in payments to suppliers indicates that the company could be experiencing liquidity pressures,” Ragini Bhalla, head of brand with Creditsafe, said in a statement. “These rising DBT figures highlight growing financial challenges, especially considering their troubling Q2 earnings results.“

During its second quarter, which ended June 28, Beyond Meat reported a 19.6% year-over-year decline in revenue to $75 million, while its net loss improved by $5.3 million to $29.2 million. 

CEO Ethan Brown said at the time he was “disappointed” with the results, and the company named an interim chief transformation officer to help lead corporate turnaround and restructuring efforts. It also announced plans to cut 6% of its workforce. 

Beyond Meat did not comment specifically on the Creditsafe data, except to point out a line in the report noting that the firm “cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information.”