Are Beyond and Daring pushing plant protein forward?

As their brand names suggest, are Beyond and Daring actually going beyond and are they being daring?

Beyond Meat has dropped “Meat” from its consumer-facing identity and is now positioning itself as Beyond The Plant Protein Company™, complete with a new website and a much broader focus. At the same time, Daring Foods is taking its plant chicken and turning it into complete frozen meals. Both companies are still focused on plant protein, but are they pushing the envelope in the plant-protein space?

Beyond Goes Beyond Meat

Beyond’s new Phytosphere portfolio is the biggest launch yet of its new direction. The lineup includes protein powders, savory protein bars, beverages and plant-forward foods, including the new Beyond Veggie burger made with fruits, vegetables, legumes, seeds and plant protein.

Beyond Starmatter is a protein powder packed with plant protein, fiber and other nutrients, and Beyond Starcut is a savory jerky-style protein bar made with plant protein and mycelium. Many were upset when Beyond discontinued their jerky a few years ago so this may be them making up for that gap in their lineup.

Beyond is using its new Test Kitchen website as an open innovation platform where consumers can get early access to new products and help shape what comes next. That’s already proven to be an interesting model, with products like Beyond Steak Filet and Beyond Immerse moving from the Test Kitchen into retail.

Their message seems pretty clear. Beyond no longer wants to be just a plant-based meat company, it wants to be a plant protein company.

Daring Wants to Make You Dinner

Daring seems to be taking a different approach. The company’s new frozen Skillet Meals put its plant chicken together with vegetables, grains and sauces to create complete meals that are ready in about 10 minutes. The move comes after Daring was acquired by Australian plant-based company v2food in 2025, with Japanese food giant Ajinomoto also becoming involved in the deal. That gives Daring some interesting new resources as it expands beyond its original plant-chicken format.

There are six meals in the lineup, with five launching at Sprouts nationwide, including Mediterranean-Spiced Chickpeas & Veggies, Smoky Veggie Chili, Power Grains & Greens, Lemon & Garlic Rotini and Teriyaki Veggie Stir-Fry. More retailers are expected later this year.

Instead of selling you plant chicken and leaving you to figure out dinner, Daring wants to sell it to you. There’s another change happening at Daring that I think is particularly interesting for vegans. A source tells me they are moving toward an entirely vegan product lineup. Whether that holds true remains to be seen and some of their older meals that contained dairy may still be on store shelves while that inventory sells through, so always read the labels. Some vegans felt betrayed when they pivoted and added real dairy into some SKUs so if true, this is good news.

Is This Where Plant-Based Protein Is Going?

I don’t think either company is abandoning plant-based meat, but they’re trying to innovate new ways to serve plant protein than trying to simply make a replacement for beef or chicken.

And let’s be honest, we already have plenty of ways to get plant protein. Beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, nuts and seeds aren’t going anywhere and are actually having a resurgence. These new products aren’t necessary in the sense that we need them to survive. Whether they catch on with consumers and move the needle for these brands remains to be seen. Beyond seems to be having a bit of an identity crisis and I’m left wondering what the little cow in a cape on Threads thinks of all of this. As for Daring, I welcome their return to an all vegan portfolio and wish success to both brands but with rising costs and limited ways for consumers to get these new products, that might be a tough sell.

Kreg Sterns is the founder of Big Box Vegan, a national plant-based grocery content platform covering vegan finds, product news, and store-level reporting at major retailers since 2018. He is the 2026 VegNews Veggie Award winner for Favorite Vegan Instagrammer and has been featured by NPR, VegNews, and The Kitchn.