Kelly Murphy & Annika DuPree
FASM 410 - Retail Management
Professor Cory Quach - Fall 2018
@beyondmeat
Contents Executive Summary 4 Objectives 5 About Beyond Meat 6-7 Mission Statement 8 SWOT Analysis 9 Market Analysis 10 Hong Kong Relevance 11 Direct Competitors 12 Indirect Competitors 13 Target Market 14-15 Location 16-17 Store Design Renderings 18-21 Assortment Plan 22-23 Pricing 24-27 Planogram 28-29 Promotion Strategy 30-31 Timing 32 Budget 33 Works Cited 34-35 @beyondmeat
“Consumers are looking for something that gives them the experience of meat without downsides,” said Will Schafer VP of Marketing “Or, as I like to say, you can have your burger and eat it, too.”³
³ (Cassidy, 2018)
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Executive Summary Over the course of 10 weeks, we composed a pop-up experience capitalizing on the global rise of veganism through the creation of a week long pop-up restaurant for plant-based protein alternative brand Beyond Meat. This pop up will take place starting on Earth Day, April 22nd and will last until April 29th. While Beyond Meat already has a Hong Kong presence in several restaurants, in addition to Green Common and Just Green grocery stores, the objectives of this pop-up will be to further spread brand awareness, educate about veganism, and overcome the negative stigma that surrounds meat alternatives. In catering to the Hong Kong market, we will only sell Beyond Burgers and Beyond Sausages, fully prepared, and ready to eat. This assortment was chosen based upon primary and secondary research, that showed us the demand for Beyond Burgers in Hong Kong is high and increasing. That being said, the majority of our product assortment will consist of the Beyond Burger. We will be targeting both vegans and non-vegans, with our core customer in the age range of their 20s-30s. With this core customer in mind, we chose the rooftop space in PMQ, located in a popular building in Sheung Wan filled with shops, offices, and restaurants where young professionals and creatives frequent. Additionally, this location is near several vegan restaurants and grocery stores that carry Beyond Meat. To help drive traffic and create buzz, we will be sending out a press release to major media publications that cover lifestyle, restaurants, events, and vegan food. During the event, social media will play a greater marketing strategy as we strategically designed the pop-up experience so that customers can video and photograph their way through the space. This includes a cooking demo in the grill section, a social media area featuring the Beyond Meat cow logo in sculpture form, and educational vegan and Beyond Meat facts throughout the space. The pop-up shop is estimated to cost $121,500 HKD for a 7 day period to ensure a successful event, which we believe is worth the investment for growing the brand’s presence in the meat capital of the world. We proudly introduce you to the Beyond Meat Hong Kong Pop-up and the ideas and research that brought about this venture, enjoy!
Objectives Capitalize on the rise of veganism and growth potential of the vegan restaurant market in Hong Kong. Educate the general public on the benefits of plant-based eating. Target vegans as well as meat eaters, in order to bring them into the vegan movement. Defy the negative stigma around plant-based eating and prove it can taste delicious.
beyondmeat.com
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entrepreneur.com
entrepreneur.com
About Beyond Meat Founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat is a privately held comapny focused on the mass market production of plant-based protein as an alternative of animal protein. The company launched its first product on the national stage in 2013 with Beyond Chicken Strips and since then has progressively dominated the plant-based protein market, with products in over 25,000 locations, including both grocery stores and food service outlets.
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The Beyond Mission “We believe there is a better way to feed the planet. Our mission is to create The Future of Protein® — delicious plant-based burgers, sausage, crumbles, strips, and more — made directly from plants. By shifting from animal, to plant-based meat, we can positively and significantly impact 4 growing issues attributed to livestock production and consumption: human health, climate change, natural resource depletion, and animal welfare. At Beyond Meat, we want to make the world a better place and we’re starting one delicious meal at a time. Join us and taste The Future of Protein!” -beyondmeat.com @beyondmeat
S W O T Beyond Meat is extremely strong in their product offering with dedication to perfection and constant innovation. They also have a strong investment backing and see strong growth in the retailers and restaurants carrying Beyond Meat.
A weakness Beyond Meat faces rests in their production and distribution capabilities as they attempt to keep up with demand. In some cases they have been unsuccessful in this, with the summer launch into the UK stalled to fall due to lack of supply, and the brand also saw supply run out in Canada A&W.⁴
Beyond Meat sees much opportunity in Asia in that it is the highest meat per capita in the world and there has also been a rise in veganism. They also haven’t prioritized international expansion so they have market share to capture for the global market. There is also a global recognition of health problems and environmental problems associated with the high meat consumption in Asia.
A potential threat for the brand is the oversaturation in the marketplace for vegan products and mock meat specifically. There is also a negative stigma surrounding veganism and those meat substitutions that Beyond Meat is going to have to overcome.⁵
⁴ (Raphael, 2018) ⁵ (Moon, 2017) @beyondmeat
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Market Analysis After conducting research on the global meat substitute market, we discovered that the market size was valued at $4.2 million USD in 2017. It is expected to reach $7.5 million USD by 2025, registering a CAGR of 7.7% from 2018 to 2025. Looking into the Hong Kong market specifically, Asia-Pacific is projected to grow exponentially in demand from 2018 to 2025, growing at the highest CAGR of 9.4%.²
² (“Meat Substitute Market,” 2018) @beyondmeat
Hong Kong Relevance In terms of Beyond Meat’s Hong Kong relevance, the company actually chose Hong Kong as its first international city to expand to outside the US, as it has often been dubbed ‘the meat capital of the world.’² Beyond Meat was introduced to Hong Kong’s Green Common, a plant-based concept store founded by the social enterprise Green Monday, and since then the sales of Beyond Meat have quadrupled.⁶ Among the Asian countries, Hong Kong has the highest meat prices, at 61% more expensive than the average global cost⁷. Therefore, since the consumer is already willing to pay more for meat, we have deduced that they would be willing to spend money on a plant-based meat substitute as it has added health benefits that animal meat does not. ² (“Meat Substitute Market,” 2018) ⁶ (Starostinetskaya, 2018) ⁷ (Roy, 2018) 11 greencommon.com
treehugger.com
greencommon.com
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Direct Competitors Researching the plant-based competition, we found 4 major direct competitors that currently have a Hong Kong presence. Right Treat is the brand behind omnipork, plant-based pork substitute that targets Asian cooking, however at $40 HKD, it is the same price for organic pork. Vegetarian brand Quorn offers an extensive product selection of nearly 100 products, however they are frozen and not all of them are vegan-friendly. Impossible Meat is the most similar plant-based substitute to Beyond Meat and has more capital funding than Beyond, however, they are not sold in grocery stores nor are they online. Morningstar Farms offers mainly veggie products and vegan burgers but they are frozen, not fresh.
Indirect Competitors In terms of indirect competitors, animal-based meat is a key indirect competitor. Following that, we found soy-based products like tofu and tempeh to pose as competition in brands such as Nosoya, Mori Nu, House Foods, Sunrise, and Sunluck, all of which are found in Hong Kong. Seitan products from brands Westsoy, Sweet Earth Natural Foods, Upton’s Naturals, Freeja’s Artisan Fods, and Pacific also pose a potential threat. Looking at indirect competition from a restaurant, we found Mana, Kind Kitchen, and Beef and Liberty as an alternative to Beyond Meat in that they already offer a vegan burger or plant-based protein option that is prepared and ready to eat.
Competitive advantage: Beyond Meat has a unique product offering that differs from our competitors and possesses a wider accessibility of the product as it is sold in both Hong Kong grocery stores and restaurants.
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Target Market Upon conducting primary research via observation of those purchasing Beyond Meat, either at the grocery store or ordering at restaurants, we found a mixed age range consisting of young adults, middle aged, and families in the Beyond Meat target market. That being said, the core customer of Beyond Meat leans more towards a younger demographic between their 20s and 30s, with the periphery consumer as middle aged to 60s. This customer is urban-based and falls into the VALS Segments of Thinkers and Experiencers. As Beyond Meat is slightly more expensive than animal-based meat, this target market falls into the upper middle class. From a psychographic perspective, the target market takes much consideration of what they put into their bodies and want to fuel themselves with food that is good for them and tastes good too. They are willing to spend more on Beyond Meat due to the benefits plant-based eating has on their bodies as well as the environmental benefits the brand champions.
The company has always targeted meat eaters, and its own market research has found that more than half of its consumers are omnivores.Âł Âł (Cassidy, 2018)
Hong Kong Target Market The target market for our Hong Kong Beyond Meat Pop-up is very similar to that of the overall Beyond Meat target market, being of similar age ranges and enjoying an urban lifestyle, as they are living in Hong Kong. A goal of our pop-up is to attract vegans, but additionally attract the meat eaters. This group may have hesitations about eating plant-based meat, however, we hope to encourage them to try it after explanation about the benefits of plant-based eating. This target market lives a healthy lifestyle and cares about what they put into their bodies. They do not want to sacrifice protein in their daily meals and believe that would be the case if they gave up meat, so it is our goal to educate them to show that plant-based protein is just as beneficial as animal-based and even has added benefits that the latter does not.
@greencommon
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Location After careful research and guidance from local Hong Kong restaurateurs, we decided upon PMQ in Central as the location for the Beyond Meat Pop-up. Specifically, The Plateau on the roof of the Qube at PMQ. This location proved most beneficial for our pop-up for a multitude of reasons, first and foremost, it is a prime area with a steady flow of foot traffic and is close to the MTR Central Station. In addition, we found that our target customer frequents the area and there are nearby restaurants and retailers that again increase foot traffic. Upon conducting a radius test, we found a consistency in vegan and organic retailers throughout the Central area, including Green Common and Just Green, both of which sell Beyond Meat, so the customer would be able to easily walk to purchase the product. Other benefits of our location include the outdoor aspect, as The Plateau already maintains wood flooring and plenty of greenery, both of which are in line with the Beyond Meat brand. PMQ also has public restrooms, which we found to be a bonus.
PMQ 2018
PMQ
The Plateau - Roof of the Qube 35 Aberdeen St, Central Central, Hong Kong PMQ 2018
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Pop Up Renderings We worked closely with SCAD Hong Kong interior design students Sean Lam and Chris Xin Lin in order to help bring our pop-up ideas to life through physical renderings. After many meetings and revisions, our collaboratiion with Sean and Chris brought about a beautiful and well-branded space in PMQ.
@beyondmeat
Social Media Area
Order Counter & Preparation Area
Lounge Seating Area
Floor Plan Indoor Seating Area
This floor plan was designed with plentiful seating accommodations in mind, as well as branding elements throughout, including educational signage and decor regarding plant-based eating at both entrances and throughout the space. There is also a grill area where customers can watch their food be made and learn how to grill the product properly. Outdoor Seating Area
Outdoor Seating Area
Grill Area
Educational & Branding Elements
Sean Lam & Chris Xin Lin 2018
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Lounge Seating Area This lounge seating area was created for guests that desire a more comfortable seating arrangement while they enjoy their burger or sausage. This space was made with the brand colors in mind and is meant to be a space of relaxation and conversation over a good plant-based experience.
Sean Lam & Chris Xin Lin 2018
Order Counter This indoor space hosts both the order counter, preparation station and additional seating for customers to enjoy their plant-based meal. As the grilling of the burgers and sausages will be done outside on the deck grills, the preparation space is primarily for the addition of toppings and dressing up the burger or sausage. This indoor seating area is covered, for those guests who do not wish to sit outdoors. Sean Lam & Chris Xin Lin 2018
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Assortment Plan As Beyond Meat offers a wide product offering, we decided to showcase the Beyond Burger and Beyond Sausage at our pop-up event. The Beyond Burger is the most recognizable and popular product of Beyond Meat and is sold throughout the Central area in grocery stores and restaurants alike. Since pork is such a large component of the Hong Kong diet, we decided to also include the Beyond Sausage, as a pork alternative that our target market would be interested in trying. The ratio of the two products would be 70% burgers, 30% sausage, due to the fact that the sausage is not yet sold in Hong Kong. We will be featuring the burger in 3 different styles with various toppings and the sausage in two styles with various toppings.
Beyond Meat Hong Kong Pop Up avg daily units
total units
retail price
total retail
cost per unit
total cost
total margin
mu%
250
Tried and True Burger
1,750
$100
$175,000
$61.26
$107,205
$67,795
38.74%
143
Hold the Cheese Please Burger
1,000
$100
$100,000
$49.96
$49,960
$50,040
50.04%
107
Crazy for Kimchi Burger
750
$100
$75,000
$53.63
$40,222.50
$34,777.5
46.37%
129
Say Yes to Relish Sausage
900
$60
$54,000
$49.81
$44,829
$9,171
16.98%
86
Spice It Up Sausage
600
$60
$36,000
$49.81
$29,886
$6,114
16.98%
total profit $167,897.5 *all pricing is in HKD
@beyondmeat
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Pricing In order to create an appropriate pricing strategy, we conducted primary research by visiting restaurants in the Central Hong Kong area that sell the Beyond Burger, such as Kind Kitchen and The Butcher’s Club, as well as looking into our competitor’s pricing of plant based meat. Taking this into consideration, in addition to the hesitations our meat-eating target market may possess about trying Beyond Meat, we decided to price our Beyond Burger and Beyond Sausage at a lower price point so as to entice to the consumer into giving our product a try. On the right, we have the price at which we are planning to sell the Beyond Burger and Beyond Sausage at our pop-up event. This pricing strategy was based upon the previously mentioned competitor research, desire to keep a low price point for our target market, and the cost of the ingredients needed to create the final products.
@beyondmeat
HK Tried and True Burger
$100 HKD
Hold the Cheese Please Burger $100 HKD Crazy for Kimchi Burger
$100 HKD
Say Yes to Relish Sausage
$60 HKD
Spice It Up Sausage
$60 HKD
@beyondmeat
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Tried and True Burger
Ingredients
Ingredients
@beyondmeat
Hold the Cheese Please Burger
Spelt Bun Vegan Cheese Tomato Lettuce Vegan Special Sauce Beyond Burger Patty
$2.73 HKD $4.29 HKD $1.78 HKD $1.20 HKD $4.49 HKD $39.50 HKD
Spelt Bun Tomato Lettuce Onion Spicy Vegan Mayo Beyond Burger Patty
$2.73 HKD $1.78 HKD $1.20 HKD $0.67 HKD $4.08 HKD $39.50 HKD
First Cost
$61.26 HKD
First Cost
$49.96 HKD
Markup % Markup $ Price
63.24% $38.74 HKD $100 HKD
Markup % Markup $ Price
80.14% $40.04 HKD $90 HKD
Crazy for Kimchi Burger
Say Yes to Relish Sausage Spice It Up Sausage Ingredients (some optional)
Ingredients Spelt Bun Tempura Sweet Potato Vegan Kimchi Vegan Mayo Tomato Lettuce Vegan Special Sauce Beyond Burger Patty
$2.73 HKD $0.11 HKD $4.23 HKD $4.08 $1.78 HKD $1.2 HKD $4.49 HKD $39.5 HKD
Spelt Bun Vegan Ketchup Vegan Mustard Vegan Special Sauce Vegan Kimchi Pickle Relish Onions Beyond Sausage
$2.73 HKD $1.93 HKD $3.01 HKD $4.49 HKD $4.23 HKD $1.50 HKD $0.67 HKD $31.25 HKD
First Cost
$53.63 HKD
First Cost
$49.81 HKD
Markup % Markup $ Price
86.46% $46.37 HKD $100 HKD
Markup % Markup $ Price
20.46% $10.19 HKD $60 HKD
@beyondmeat
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Planogram The Beyond Meat Burgers and Sausage packaging will be featured in the grill area in a display fridge, as well as in a fridge inside near the cashier checkout area. These two areas were chosen as we consider them our hot zones as they are areas the customer will likely be drawn to. The display product will be kept in the Beyond Meat packaging in order for the customer to see what the packaging looks like so they can purchase it in the grocery store if they so choose. This product will ultimately also be used as part of the tasting experience.
@beyondmeat
Sean Lam & Chris Xin Lin 2018
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Promotion Strategy Pre-event strategy: In devising a promotion strategy for the Beyond Meat Pop-up, we decided upon a press release as the focal promotion strategy, as we deemed this most appropriate for our target market and the type of product we are trying to sell. We arranged to send this press release to SCMP, Timeout, GreenQueen, SassyHongKong, She. com, lifestyleasia.com/hong-kong/, ulifestyle, Hong Kong Tattler, afoodieworld. com, expatliving.hk, and live-magazine.com, each of which frequently reports on restaurant openings, pop-up shops, current events, and lifestyle content, including those of a vegan and organic nature. During event: Additionally, the pop-up will contain a social media photo opportunity area encouraging participants to take a picture with the Beyond Meat cow sculpture, composed of various vegetables, and post it to social media with the #hkgoesbeyond. This hashtag will also invite food and lifestyle bloggers to attend the event and post to their social media platforms, bringing awareness to Beyond Meat and encouraging others to come by to check it out before it ends.
@beyondmeat
Beyond Meat Kim Strauss BeyondMeat@Mbooth.com
Plant-based Meat Leader, Beyond Meat, Hosting Hong Kong Pop-Up To supplement its global expansion plans, Beyond Meat will host first international pop-up 8 April 2019, 7am HKT Central, Hong Kong, 8 April 2019. Beyond Meat is pleased to announce a brand milestone: the hosting of its first international pop-up shop focusing on its breakthrough plant-based burger and sausages. The mission-driven company that aims to positively impact the environment, human health, and animal welfare with its plant-based meat will work with its existing partners in Hong Kong to create an interactive and educational pop-up experience. The pop-up will take place at PMQ, specifically the Plateau- roof of the cube, and exist from April 22-April 29,th giving Hong Kong locals a week to taste the revolutionary burgers and sausages. The company has already found success in Hong Kong since its introduction of the Beyond Burger to Hong Kong in 2017. In fact, the brand has seen sales of the burger quadruple since its introduction to local green grocery store, Green Common, in April 2018. “Now that we have positioned ourselves to meet product demand due to our new production facilities, we want to build upon our success in Hong Kong and further expand into the meat capital of the world”, said Beyond Meat founder and CEO, Ethan Brown. The pop-up will allow locals of Hong Kong to try burgers made from Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger patty and hot dogs comprised of Beyond Meat’s Beyond Sausage for a promotional price exclusive to this pop-up only. “We’re excited to bring Beyond Sausage abroad and think that it can have the same success as Beyond Burger has had with its introduction to Hong Kong”, said founder and CEO, Ethan Brown. In addition to tasting Beyond Meat, the brand seeks to educate about the benefits of eating plant-based as well as showcasing ways to prepare and cook the products themselves. Link to googledrive folder containing all imagery, HERE. About Based in Los Angeles, California, Beyond Meat is a privately held company with a mission of building meat directly from plants. Investors include Bill Gates, actor and activist Leonardo DiCaprio, Twitter co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams, Kleiner Perkins, former McDonald's CEO Don Thompson, Honest Tea founder Seth Goldman, Humane Society of the United States, and Tyson Foods. To stay up to date on the latest, visit www.BeyondMeat.com and follow @BeyondMeat, #BeyondBurger, #BeyondSausage and #FutureOfProtein on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. ###
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Timing As our pop-up will last a week, we chose to host it coinciding with Earth Day, which is Monday, April 22nd and last until Monday, April 29th. This start date also happens to go along with Green Monday, a practice in Hong Kong similar to Meatless Monday in which people abstain from meat on Mondays. Monday-Thursday 11am-8pm Friday & Saturday 11am-9pm Sunday 11am-8pm
beyondmeat.com
Budget Budget Breakdown Food cost
$86,977.50 HKD
Shipping
$9,812.10 HKD
Labor
$7,113.36 HKD
Rent Construction Design materials
$17,500 HKD
Total budget
$121, 500 HKD $15.5k USD
Due to Beyond Meat’s generous capital funding of 72 million USD⁴ and growing demand for it’s products, we have set forth a budget of $121,500 HKD for this pop-up space. This number comes from the price of space rental, construction and design materials, equipment needed such as grills and fridges, ingredients to make the burgers and sausages, labor, and shipping cost. We see this as a reasonable investment in order to build Beyond Meat brand recognition in the meat capital of the world, Hong Kong.
⁴ (Raphael, 2018) 33
Works Cited 1) Bronner, S. J. (2018, January 22). With $72 Million in Funding, the Entrepreneur Behind Beyond Meat Pursues Innovation Over Profit. Retrieved September 25, 2018, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/307715 2) Meat Substitute Market by Product Type, Source, Category - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2018-2025 (Rep. No. 4603632). (2018, June). Retrieved September 26, 2018, from https://www. researchandmarkets.com/research/ks358w/the_global_meat?w=4 3) Cassidy, A. (2018, September 10). The dad who feeds his son burgers almost every day. Retrieved September 25, 2018, from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45395216 4) Raphael, R. (2018, July 19). Exclusive: Inside Beyond Meat’s innovative future food lab. Retrieved September 25, 2018, from https://www.fastcompany.com/90202590/exclusive-inside-beyond-meats-innovative-futurefood-lab 5) Moon, L. (2017, October 28). Inside Hong Kong’s growing appetite for veganism. Retrieved September 25, 2018, from https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2117326/inside-hong-kongsgrowing-appetite-veganism 6) Starostinetskaya, A. (2018, August 7). Beyond Meat Sales in Hong Kong Quadruple Since April Launch. Retrieved September 25, 2018, from https://vegnews.com/2018/8/beyond-meat-sales-in-hong-kongquadruple-since-april-launch
7) Roy, D. (2018, April 27). Hong Kong has 61 per cent more expensive meat price than the average global cost: Caterwings. Retrieved September 26, 2018, from http://www.fareasternagriculture.com/crops/foodcommodity/hong-cong-has-61-per-cent-more-expensive-meat-price-than-the-average-global-cost-caterwings
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#hkgoesbeyond
@beyondmeat