What’s New in Plant-Based Meat? Honeybee Burger

Honeybee Burger has an interesting business model: open a national chain of restaurants that offer only their proprietary plant-based burgers (along with fries, drinks, and desserts), i.e., no products containing beef, chicken or fish. Their pitch to investors is linked above.

They say, “Honeybee Burger is a 100% plant-based food company that is aiming to become an iconic national fast-food brand. Our mission is to help save the planet by getting more people to choose plant-based food over animal-based food by focusing on America’s most popular and iconic fast-food: burgers!”

As a business consultant, here’s what I would say:

This product is entering a market that is already extremely well-established, with products from large publicly-traded companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods selling like hotcakes via retailers and existing restaurant chains.  Honeybee’s first challenge is competing in that space.

An even bigger problem, it seems to me, is the idea of a store that offers essentially one product.  Suppose I want a plant burger but my wife and kids want beef?  You’re talking about capital expenses of seven figures per store, to compete with every McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, Carl’s Junior, Jack-in-the-Box, and most other restaurants in the nation, simply to sell a single SKU?  Seems like an uphill climb.

BTW, this idea was parodied in an SNL skit from the 1970s, where a guy was lamenting that his “Scotch Tape Store” was going under.

Beyond Meat is sold in probably 50 grocery stores and restaurants (including Carl’s Junior) within 30 miles of here.  Impossible Foods has a somewhat smaller retailer footprint, but an equally impressive restaurant presence (including Burger King, with its fabulous Impossible Whopper).

This business model just plain won’t work, but that doesn’t mean they can’t compete directly, maybe offering some restaurant chains its own proprietary plant-based meat product.  Wendy’s New Wow Burger?