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Beyond Meat signals shift toward nutrient stacking in plant-based foods. 07 Oct 2026 | By Insha Naureen | Last updated: 08 Oct 2026 [12:29 UTC] Key takeaways. * Beyond Meat's Phytosphere concept reflects a shift from meat replacement toward multi-benefit plant nutrition. * Roquette sees growing demand for plant protein combined with fiber and other nutrients across more food categories. * Nutrient stacking creates formulation challenges around taste, texture, solubility, and processing performance. Plant protein company Beyond Meat's recent move toward nutrient stacking reflects a wider shift from meat replacement toward multi-benefit plant nutrition. The approach taps a broader formulation trend - combining plant protein with fiber, phytonutrients, and other functional ingredients rather than relying on protein alone. Through its Phytosphere platform, Beyond has brought together powders, beverages, bars, and center-of-plate products that offer consumers combinations of plant protein and other nutrients, including fiber, polyphenols, and phytosterols. The Phytosphere strategy provides a consumer-facing example of this shift. Food Ingredients First speaks with Benjamin Voiry, head of marketing Plant Proteins at Roquette, about what it means for ingredient formulation and how plant protein is moving into broader nutrition-led applications. Plant protein moves beyond meat alternatives. Last month, Beyond Meat launched three new product concepts: Beyond Starcut, a savory plant-based jerky bar (17 g of protein), Beyond Starmatter, a plant protein powder combining 20 g of protein with fiber and phytonutrients, and Beyond Veggie, a vegetable-forward burger format providing 12 g of protein, 6 g of fiber, and nutrients from fruits and vegetables. The Beyond Burger manufacturer has been expanding beyond its traditional alternative meat solutions against a backdrop of weakness in the wider plant-based meat category. Sales in plant-based meat declined by 26% in the two years to 2023, and consumer demands dipped. Beyond Meat's Phytosphere portfolio lets consumers stack plant protein, fiber, polyphenols, and phytosterols across multiple formats (Image credit: Beyond Meat).Earlier this year, the company also expanded into functional beverages, tapping into protein fortification, gut health, and GLP-1-friendly nutrition trends. Voiry agrees that brands are using plant-based proteins to explore more nutrition-led applications and products that deliver holistic health benefits. This aligns with Innova Market Insights' 2026 "Authentic Plant-Based" trend, with 55% of global consumers agreeing that plant-based foods should be considered as their own category. Demand for nutrient-dense, convenient products is also being reinforced by online trends such as "proteinmaxxxing" and diets shaped by GLP-1 weight loss medication use, adds Voiry. He describes protein as a "strong driver of innovation" but argues that the opportunity is increasingly about what plant-based formulations can offer beyond simply providing protein content in meat-free applications. "Protein enrichment is also expanding, growing in everyday categories such as bakery and dairy, as well as specialized nutrition. Together, these developments point to a broader role for plant protein. It's no longer confined to replacing animal proteins in meat substitutes." High protein evolves into multi-benefit nutrition. Beyond Meat's Phytosphere concept exemplifies a broader move away from single-benefit positioning. The approach allows individual products to address several nutritional attributes rather than relying solely on a high-protein claim. Brenda Heather, nutrition expert and senior contributor at Meo Nutrition, tells Food Ingredient First that the approach reflects a broader change in formulation priorities. "Stacking fiber and phytonutrients alongside plant protein suggests formulators are designing for the whole nutritional picture instead of one headline nutrient." Voiry says this multi-benefit approach opens up opportunities to bring key nutrients together in convenient, appealing formats. Benjamin Voiry: The key challenge is maintaining the consumer experience as nutritional content increases."As the category evolves, we expect communication to move beyond a broad high-protein position toward broader nutrition and health positioning." Combining complementary ingredients such as plant proteins and fibers can allow formulators to build products around multiple nutritional benefits, he explains. Heather says the consumer-facing benefit may go beyond nutrient density. "The payoff a shopper actually notices is satiety and steadier energy, because fiber slows digestion and lets the protein do more work." Voiry cites Roquette's Nutralys pea protein range and Nutriose soluble fiber as examples of ingredients that can be combined to support protein and fiber positioning while meeting the technical requirements of different applications. "Roquette's Nutriose 06 soluble fiber is designed for use in high-fiber snacks, supporting a balanced glucose response and prolonged energy release. Bringing ingredients like these together can help brands develop products with a more holistic nutritional profile rather than relying on a single proposition or message." "The right combination will, of course, depend on the application and the needs of the finished product." Multi-nutrient formulations raise taste challenges. For formulators, however, adding more nutritional components may increase technical complexity. Stacking proteins, fibers, minerals, and other functional ingredients can affect taste, texture, and processing characteristics, Voiry explains. He identifies solubility, emulsification, and viscosity among the properties that can become more difficult to manage as nutritional density increases. Added fiber can alter texture and cause bloating, making mouthfeel and repeat purchase key."The key challenge is maintaining the consumer experience as nutritional content increases. People have high expectations of taste, texture, and eating experience, whether they're eating a standard product, a nutritionally enhanced version, or a completely new one based on multiple nutrients." Heather also points to a potential downside of nutrient stacking. "But there's a tradeoff nobody mentions on the pack: added fiber changes texture and can cause bloating in people not used to it, so these formulations will be judged on mouthfeel and the second purchase, not the label." Voiry adds that ingredient selection increasingly needs to consider both nutritional composition and technical functionality. "Advances in ingredient processing can improve their functional properties, giving formulators greater flexibility without compromising product performance." Nutrient stacking gains ground. The underlying approach behind Beyond Meat's Phytosphere concept is increasingly visible elsewhere in the market. The nutrient-stacking approach is appearing in finished products. Cargill, for instance, recently showcased a protein and prebiotic soda combining 5 g of protein with 5 g of soluble fiber, while plant-based nutrition brand Ka'Chava's nutrition shakes layer plant protein with fiber, probiotics, micronutrients, omega-3s, and adaptogens. The same concept is visible upstream in ingredient development. US-based Plantible has previously told Chef Robotics, Inc. that its Rubi Protein can simultaneously support texture, nutrition, and sensory performance, while its Lemna Leaf Greens ingredient combines protein, fiber, and micronutrients. While these approaches differ considerably in ingredients, applications, and positioning, they point toward a similar direction of travel - plant protein is increasingly a part of a broader nutritional system rather than acting as the end proposition itself. For ingredient suppliers, this transition creates opportunities beyond supplying higher concentrations of protein.

Judge slashes Beyond Meat's damages by $23.4M in Dunkin' trademark lawsuit. By Anay Mridul Published on Sep 23, 2026 Last updated Sep 23, 2026 4 Mins Read A judge in Massachusetts has reduced Beyond Meat's financial liability in a trademark lawsuit over a Dunkin' ad, axing $23.4M of the overall $38.9M awarded by a jury last year. Months after a jury found Beyond Meat liable to pay nearly $39M for infringing a trademark owned by Sonate (which does business as Vegadelphia Foods), a federal judge has accepted the plant-based meat company's motion to reduce the damages awarded. The sum included $23.5M in actual damages for the infringement, and another $15.4M in disgorgement of its profits. At the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Justice Indira Talwani cut the amount Beyond owes for the former by $23.4M, totalling just $37,500. Both sides can pursue further motions or appeals to the judgment. But as it stands, Beyond - which was sued over its use of the slogans "Great Taste, Plant-Based" and "Plant-Based, Great Taste" in an advertisement for the Beyond Sausage sandwich at Dunkin' - now needs to pay Vegadelphia $15.44 million, a 60% cut from the jury's original award. Beyond Meat's infringement didn't substantially impact Vegadelphia's valuation. The case emanates from Beyond's 2019 partnership with Dunkin', which introduced the Beyond Sausage breakfast sandwich. on its menu. The companies promoted the dish with a commercial featuring American rapper Snoop Dogg and the tagline "Great Taste, Plant-Based" But Vegadelphia, which also sells plant-based meat and was incorporated five years before Beyond, had received a federal trademark for its slogan "Where Great Taste Is Plant-Based" in 2015. So it claimed that Beyond and Dunkin' were using its trademark without permission, arguing that it led to the collapse of acquisition talks with two food industry executives - a deal dubbed "Vegadelphia 2.0" - that could have valued the company at $100M within a few years. The lawsuit was filed in 2022, and Dunkin' settled the case in 2024. Beyond, however, felt the slogans wouldn't cause market confusion and instead accurately described its products. The latter's attorneys suggested that the use of the two phrases in question was distinct enough not to cause a legal issue. But last year, a jury disagreed with the claims that the slogans constituted fair use and were sufficiently different, dismissing Beyond's assertion that Vegadelphia's phrase was a "weak mark" with "no commercial strength" and ruling that the Dunkin' ad would likely confuse consumers. After the verdict in November, Beyond filed a motion to either reduce or eliminate the damages owed, while Vegadelphia sought prejudgment interest and an increase in the disgorgement award. Talwani granted Beyond's request in part, and denied both of the latter's motions. "No reasonable jury could find it probable, based on non-speculative evidence, that Beyond's infringement of Sonate's trademark was a substantial factor in the abandonment of Vegadelphia 2.0," she stated in her ruling. Beyond eyes turnaround following end of latest legal dispute. This is far from the first legal battle the Beyond Burger maker has been embroiled in. In 2024, it settled a class-action lawsuit for $7.5M against claims that it had overstated its products' nutritional benefits, since the protein digestibility of its meat analogues was lower than that of conventional meat. And last year, a judge threw out a class-action lawsuit by investors who alleged the company misled them about its manufacturing capacities, leading to artificially inflated stock prices. Beyond has also won a legal dispute against a former co-manufacturer over the termination of a production agreement, with a judge validating its decision to end the deal and denying the latter's request to reopen the arbitration. At the same time, it is being investigated by a law firm for "potential violations of the federal securities laws". The 15.4M sum it owes to Vegadelphia, though reduced, is still substantial for a financially distressed company like Beyond. For context, it posted revenues of $68.8M in Q2 2026 - the damages account for 22% of this amount. The company has suffered from six consecutive quarters of shrinking revenue and a record-low share price that needed an artificial boost just to stay afloat on the Nasdaq market. To revive its fortunes, it has expanded, well, beyond meat to offer sparkling protein drinks, protein powders and bars, as well as veggie burgers. * Anay Mridul Anay is Green Queen's resident news reporter. Originally from India, he worked as a vegan food writer and editor in London, and is now travelling and reporting from across Asia. He's passionate about coffee, plant-based milk, cooking, eating, veganism, food tech, writing about all that, profiling people, and the Oxford comma. View all posts