[7] Brown initially contacted two University of Missouri professors, Fu-hung Hsieh and Harold Huff, who had been developing their meatless protein for years.

[19] Beyond Meat is also backed by celebrity and athlete investors such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Jessica Chastain, Mark Rober, Snoop Dogg, Liza Koshy, Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, DeAndre Hopkins and others.

[27] In October 2022, the company announced a 19% workforce reduction, or approximately 200 employees, due to revenue declines.

[30] In June 2018, Beyond Meat opened its second production facility in Columbia, Missouri, resulting in a three-fold increase of the company's manufacturing space.

[37][38] In November 2020, Beyond Meat announced a collaboration with McDonald's for development of the McPlant option, a plant-based patty and chicken substitute.

[42] In January 2021, Taco Bell announced a collaboration with Beyond Meat, initially as a test and then as a permanent option for a new plant-based protein food.

[43] Also in January 2021, Beyond Meat and PepsiCo announced a joint venture, called The PLANeT Partnership, to develop and market plant-based snacks and drinks.

[45] Testing of the McPlant burger by McDonald's in the USA ended in July 2022 after poor sales in 600 restaurants, but the product is sold in several European countries.

[46] In September 2021, Beyond Meat announced it would begin selling their vegan chicken tenders in retail stores, including Walmart.

[47] In March 2019, a civil suit was filed against Beyond Meat by its former business partner and supplier, Don Lee Farms.

[9] They were made from "soy powder, gluten-free flour, carrot fiber and other ingredients" which were mixed and fed into a food extrusion machine that cooks the mixture while forcing it through a specially designed mechanism that uses steam, pressure, and cold water to form the product's chicken-like texture.

[55] The number of ingredients and processes involved in making the products mean they are classified as ultra-processed foods in the Nova classification.