Beyond Meat Case Assignment Questions PDF

Preview

Summary

Beyond meat case questions for GBA 490 Fall 2021/2022...

Description

Beyond Meat, Inc. ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS 1. Are plant-based meat substitute products just a passing fad? How likely is it that an attractively large percentage of the world’s consumers will switch away from eating animal meats to mostly or wholly eating plant-based meat substitutes instead of animal meat? Plant-based meat is not a passing fad, but something that is growing rapidly. There are so many options out there in stores, restaurants, and fast-food chains for customers. Plant-based diets may be growing rapidly, but It’s not very likely that people make the switch full time just yet. The prices of plant-based meals are higher than animal meat meals and that plays a big factor into people making the switch. Preconceive notions also play a great role in why people won’t make the switch over to plant-based meals. People think you may not get the same nutrients from plant-based meals as you would from meat. There may be a growing number of people adding plant-based meals to their diets, but it’s going to take more time for it to become a full-time option for the larger percent of the population. 2. What is your assessment of the strength of the competitive forces Beyond Meat faces? Do a five-forces analysis to support your answer. Bargaining Power of Suppliers (Weak) •

Beyond Meat doesn’t have long-term agreements with their suppliers because of most of their ingredients used are available in the market from other suppliers. The company believe that they can get the needed supplies from other vendors in the event that a supply interruption happens.

The Threat of New Entry (Weak) •

Beyond Meat face a weak threat of entry because of the products in the industry are all very similar and the market’s nature. This gives an advantage to large companies like Beyond Meat and its’ rivals when it comes to market shares because there won’t be any new threats popping up anytime soon.

Threat of Substitution (Strong) •

There’s a real threat when it comes to substitution for Beyond Meat. Different companies in the same industry as Beyond Meat offer similar products as well as products with different things like soy protein or pea protein or potato protein or wheat protein, or other grains as the main ingredient. There are different products out there that may include the desired ingredient the customer is looking for and because of this Beyond Meat faces a great threat of substitution.

Bargaining Power of Buyers (Strong) •

Buyers have great power in the industry because of the lack of product variance. The companies in the industry sell almost the same products the buyers can use this to their advantage and get cheaper prices and better quality of products from companies.

Rivalry (Strong) •

Beyond Meat has many rivals in their industry and because of this it’s a highly competitive environment. Their competitors include the world’s largest meat supplier JBS, Tyson Foods and they sold more than 42 billion in 2019, Cargill is the world’s biggest fresh beef and poultry and they sold 113 billion in 2019, Hormel sold 9.5 billion in sales, Maple Leaf sold 3.5 billion in 2019, and China-based WH Group. These are some of the biggest companies in the world and they take up a lot of the revenue in the market. The low threat of entry allows the competition to have advantage in prices.

1. What are the key success factors for Beyond Meat and the other makers of plant-based meat substitutes? List and explain. Partnerships – A lot of the companies in the industry aren’t very known, so building strong relationship with bigger known companies allows for better brand recognition. A better brand allows for more revenue and customers as well. Product Differentiation – The companies that can offer some product differentiation gives themselves an advantage because there is a lack of product variance. The only difference in the industry is what ingredients are going into the products. Competitive Prices – Having competitive prices that not only matches the plant-based industry, but the animal meat market as well allows for companies to stay competitive with their rivals in both markets. The biggest weakness for companies in the plant-based market is the prices are high compared to the companies who sell animal meat. Making the similar will allow customers to give your product a chance without feeling like they’re spending a great deal of money.

2. Do a SWOT analysis: what does it reveal about the overall attractiveness of Beyond Meat’s situation in 2020?

SWOT Analysis Strengths • • • •

Enough nutrition Strong brand endorsements Can replicate meat No modified ingredients

Opportunities • • • • • •

Growing vegan trend Tackling health issues in the world Environment and animal welfare Global expansion Good for environment Partnerships

Weaknesses • • • •

Limited options for customers High Pricing No brand recognition Low income

Threats •

•

• •

•

Preconceived stereotypes about plantbased meals Competitors with alternatives to plantbased meals Companies copying business model Meat selling companies entering plant-based industry COVID-19

3. What are the key elements of Beyond Meat’s strategy? State the generic strategy and 5 individual strategies.

4. Do a financial analysis of Beyond Meat. What is your assessment of Beyond Meat’s financial performance, as shown in Exhibit 2? What finance-related strengths and weaknesses do you see? Use the financial ratio data in Chapter 4 to support your assessment.

5. What are the key issues confronting Beyond Meat’s top management team in 2020?

6. What recommendations would you make to Ethan Brown regarding the company’s strategy and actions that should be taken to strengthen the company’s efforts to compete successfully against its rivals? The recommendation I would give Ethan Brown would be to partner with more name brand companies and get their products out there. The industry they’re in suffer from the lack of the products being different from their rivals. They partnered with companies like KFC and McDonald’s to test out different products and they were hits with the customers. When they partnered with KFC for their new chicken product, it sold out in 5 hours, but they haven’t introduced another product since then. When Beyond Meat tested their product with McDonald’s it made their rival stop efforts to partner with the fast-food chain and gave Beyond Meat an advantage. Continuing to partner with the bigger brands out there they will get to test the market reaction to their new ideas and get more exposure for the company....