<div id="readability-page-1"><div> <h2>Key Points</h2><ul><li>Beyond Meat is positioning its line of protein drinks as a central pillar in its turnaround strategy. </li><li>The company has been posting declining sales and poor gross margins, and it needs wins in new product categories. </li><li>The beverages push looks like a solid move, but Beyond needs a lot of help. </li><li>10 stocks we like better than Beyond Meat ›</li></ul>Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND) is in a tough spot. In the first quarter, its sales fell roughly 15.3% year over year to land at $58.2 million. While rapidly declining sales are a big issue for the company, its margin picture is arguably even more concerning.Beyond's gross margin came in at 3.4% in Q1, which was actually a substantial improvement over the negative 10.1% gross margin it recorded in the prior-year period. However, a margin on that level essentially leaves no way for the company to shift into delivering profitability.Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an &#34;Indispensable Monopoly&#34; providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »Now it's looking toward clear protein drinks as a new product category that could help it reenergize sales and begin to change its margins. Could protein drinks supercharge a turnaround for Beyond Meat?<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-dXJsPWh0dHBzOi8vZy5mb29sY2RuLmNvbS9lZGl0b3JpYWwvaW1hZ2VzLzg3MDEwOC9nZXR0eWltYWdlcy0xMzQ0MjkzMzA3LmpwZyZ3PTcwMA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="700" height="427" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-dXJsPWh0dHBzOi8vZy5mb29sY2RuLmNvbS9lZGl0b3JpYWwvaW1hZ2VzLzg3MDEwOC9nZXR0eWltYWdlcy0xMzQ0MjkzMzA3LmpwZyZ3PTcwMA"/>Image source: Getty Images. <h2>Beyond Meat is betting big on its new beverage line</h2>Beyond Immerse is a line of protein drinks that has had a very limited test launch and will have an expanded rollout this summer. Last month, Beyond announced a partnership with Big Geyser, a beverage distributor that serves more than 26,000 locations in the New York metropolitan area.Beyond lost $41.1 million last quarter, which works out to an operating margin of negative 70.6%. In other words, the company lost roughly $0.71 for every dollar in revenue it generated. If Beyond is to be a viable business over the long term, it clearly needs to find success in new product categories. Demand for the company's plant-based meat alternatives has been weakening, and the outlook for enough economies of scale being realized to allow for big gross-margin improvements is dim.Positioning protein drinks at the center of its new product strategies looks like a reasonably well-founded move. Getting easy protein is a good hook for health-conscious consumers, and it's not an accident that &#34;protein&#34; receives such a high degree of focus in many food-industry marketing campaigns. It's a proven marketing winner.On the other hand, the Beyond Immerse beverage line will have to carve out a foothold and find success in a product category that already has a substantial degree of saturation. The beverage business is a challenging, highly competitive industry -- and securing lasting shelf space and support from consumers is no easy task. Beyond's distribution deal with Big Geyser has the makings of a substantial and encouraging first step, but there's still a lot of uncertainty on the consumer-demand front.With Beyond Meat's stock down roughly 99% over the past five years, even modest indicators of success for the Immerse beverage line could be enough to power substantial valuation gains in the near term. On the other hand, betting on the company's push into clear protein beverages to deliver a sustained turnaround looks like a risky proposition.<h2>Should you buy stock in Beyond Meat right now?</h2> Before you buy stock in Beyond Meat, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Beyond Meat wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $483,476!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,362,941!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 998% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 207% for the S&amp;P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2026. Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Beyond Meat. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. </div></div>

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Beyond Meat is focusing on its new line of protein drinks, Beyond Immerse, as a key part of its turnaround strategy amid declining sales and low gross margins. The company reported a 15.3% drop in sales to $58.2 million and a gross margin of 3.4%. Despite a partnership with Big Geyser for distribution, the beverage market is highly competitive, and success is uncertain. Analysts suggest caution before investing, as Beyond Meat's stock has fallen 99% over five years.

Are Protein Drinks the Turnaround Catalyst That Beyond Meat Stock Needs?