CMO Today also covers airlines, retail and advertising moves

Beyond Meat Inc. founder and CEO Ethan Brown said the company will rebuild its brand around the notion of a “phytosphere” — a plant-based ecosystem — as it moves the word “Meat” off its packaging and into a broader portfolio of protein drinks, powders and snack-style products.

The strategy was reported in the WSJ Leadership Institute’s CMO Today newsletter, with the lead item written by Patrick Coffee. Brown told the institute that the company’s plan is to push past polarizing debates about plant-based food and tap into growing consumer demand for protein-focused products.

“Beyond is going to be the anchor for anything that’s plant-based, center-of-the-plate protein, but then we’re creating these other brands…and they all have a story line,” Brown said.

The product lineup now includes Beyond Starmatter protein powder, Beyond Starcut beef-jerky-style bars and Beyond Immerse, a line of protein-heavy carbonated beverages fresh out of testing. Brown said the “Beyond” mark will anchor plant-based center-of-the-plate protein while the sub-brands handle adjacent categories.

The corporate name remains Beyond Meat Inc. Press releases and earnings materials now carry the parenthetical note “otherwise known as Beyond The Plant Protein Company.” In a Q&A with newsletter editor Nat Ives, Coffee characterized the dual-name arrangement as a tricky balancing act: “They’re trying to simultaneously transcend the Beyond brand name and expand the range of products associated with their brand. It’s a tricky thing to do.” The newsletter observed that the awkwardness reflects the challenge at hand.

The company is also holding meetings with marketing agencies about a campaign for next year that would position the brand around what Brown described as “thrive mode” — a health-focused lifestyle that keeps political debates about meat off the table.

The strategy comes against a difficult market backdrop. Demand for plant-based meat alternatives has been shrinking and has been for some time, while the market for protein powders and beverages is growing, Coffee reported. Beyond Meat has tried several turnaround strategies in recent years, the newsletter said, and nothing has worked so far. Gartner analyst Emily Weiss told the WSJ that the cycle of hype and backlash around plant-based food has quieted down, potentially giving the company an opening to reach consumers adjusting their diets because of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.

The same edition of CMO Today rounded up additional marketing and media industry short items:

  • American Airlines will stop involuntarily bumping passengers as part of a broader effort to improve its consumer reputation, the Journal’s Alison Sider and Rebecca Cadenhead report. The carrier said it is being more proactive about soliciting volunteers to give up their seats on overbooked flights through the app and email notifications well before travelers reach their gates. American is also making clear to employees that no bumping is now a requirement, not a goal. “We’ve improved technology and improved process,” said Heather Garboden, American’s chief customer officer. “And now I think we feel we’re to the point where we do not take an ‘involuntary denied’ boarding.” American was responsible for 60% of passengers who were involuntarily bumped last year and is playing catch-up with competitors that curbed the practice years ago. Its strategy to polish its premium-travel credentials also includes new lounges, more high-end seating and the announcement that it is expanding Starlink Wi-Fi across its entire mainline fleet.

  • Goodwipes’ spoof of an OpenAI ad called “Meet Astra” generated significant organic views over 48 hours on Reddit, according to the newsletter. Creative agency OK Future used generative AI to take the idea to execution in just four days, a pace that CEO Frank Cartagena said he wouldn’t necessarily recommend.

  • Walmart head of supply-chain operations Rob Montgomery told the newsletter: “We are kind of in this peak complexity.” The remark came in the context of the retailer’s decade-long, multibillion-dollar quest to automate its warehouses, including seemingly simple tasks like removing items from cardboard boxes to send out individually.

  • The WSJ Leadership Institute’s CMO Council Summit runs Nov. 17 and 18 in New York, featuring FUBU founder Daymond John, Visa’s Frank Cooper III, Mars Inc.’s Gülen Bengi, IBM’s Jonathan Adashek, United Airlines’ Josh Earnest, PepsiCo’s Mark Kirkham, e.l.f. Beauty’s Oshiya Savur and the National Women’s Soccer League’s Rachel Epstein.

  • The new head of 7-Eleven Inc. plans to revamp the chain’s image in North America by mirroring what has worked in Japan, the WSJ reports.

  • Starbucks has worked on a takeover proposal for Chipotle that one analyst said would offer “no obvious revenue synergies,” according to the Financial Times.

  • Skydance named Jay Askinasi, who joined Paramount after holding senior roles at Roku and Publicis, to lead ad sales, Variety reports.

  • Hulu will debut Dan Fogelman’s NFL family drama “The Land” one day after the Super Bowl, The A.V. Club reports.

  • Aritzia is accelerating its U.S. expansion and raised its full-year outlook as American shoppers boosted its top line, the WSJ reports.

  • Panda Express is expanding its marketing in Roblox and Fortnite, saying initial forays like integrating its panda mascot and Original Orange Chicken boosted brand awareness and restaurant visits, Marketing Tech News reports.

  • College-age affiliate marketers may be shifting toward Amazon and ShopMy, and away from Shein and malls, Glossy reports.

  • Oura’s new ad campaign depicts human hands not just running or sleeping with the brand’s smart ring but waiting for the subway, sunbathing and getting an ultrasound, Adweek reports.

  • Meta banned ads promoting TikTok, saying: “We don’t have to run ads from a competitor whose goal is to pull people off our apps,” Bloomberg reports.