Struggling 'clean food' brands dig in for long haul

Autumn, season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, wrote Keats. Not if you're in the plant-based food industry. Sales at major brands, including Oatly and Beyond Meat, are stalling.

- Jasper Reid

In the US, sales of alternative milk fell 4.4% in the past year, according to NielsenIQ, while American meat sales rose 5%. It looks wintery for these “good food” pioneers, and Beyond Meat’s share price is now slipping back after a 1,000% surge.

But Ben Black, executive director of Verlinvest, an Oatly shareholder, is philosophical. “Clean food started in the late 20th century, and we're in the middle of something pervasive.”

The current articulation is gut health, he says, and in the “post-protein world” Oatly’s fibre-rich formula will find favour. A new lucrative food chain has been created by GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, such as Ozempic, whose users need to eat more protein and more fibre.

But all admit the market is tough.