US bakery chain Milk Bar has brought back savoury items to its menu for the first time in years, partnering with Beyond Meat to offer two vegetarian dishes that align with growing demand for “plant-forward” options.
From Erewhon to Milk Bar, it’s been a big week for Beyond Meat.
Christina Tosi’s famed bakery chain has teamed up with the plant-based meat giant, now also known as Beyond The Plant Protein Company, to introduce two limited-edition vegetarian menu items.
Milk Bar’s flagship locations in New York City and Los Angeles will now offer dishes made with the Beyond Breakfast Sausage and Beyond Meatballs. The partnership, running until October 5, marks the reintroduction of savoury options for the first time in years at the bakery.
It’s a response to customer demand for more “plant-forward options”, a request Milk Bar said it has received “time and time again”. The Beyond-powered bakes are inspired by guest feedback, and are a marker of the plant-based meat maker’s staying power despite years of financial turmoil.
Milk Bar’s Beyond Meat options cater to flexitarians
“At Milk Bar, we love the chance to play in a space we don’t often get to explore – this time, with savoury,” said Tosi, a James Beard Award-winning chef who founded Milk Bar while working at David Chang’s Momofoku restaurants.
“Beyond Meat is the perfect partner to create something accessible, surprising, and wildly craveable at the same time, that still feels unmistakably Milk Bar,” she added.
The new dishes include a sausage and egg spiral, in which golden pastry spirals wrapped around Beyond Breakfast Sausage patty pieces, egg and Cheddar cheese are baked into a “perfectly swirled ring”.
The other menu item is Milk Bar’s take on a classic meatball parm roll, combining Beyond Meatballs with marinara sauce, onions, and mozzarella in a golden baked dough.
While the new savoury additions aren’t fully plant-based, they will speak to Beyond’s target market of omnivores and flexitarians, opening up its plant proteins to a wider set of consumers beyond vegans.
It’s a strategy that has brought success for other meat alternative makers, such as Impossible Foods – Starbucks’s Impossible Breakfast Sandwich has cheese and eggs, and the Impossible Whopper contains cheese and special sauce.
“As more people look to incorporate plant-forward meals into their routines – whether they’re vegetarians, flexitarians, or simply looking to mix things up – Milk Bar and Beyond Meat are making those choices more exciting, approachable, and delicious,” Milk Bar stated in a press release.
To further make plant-based proteins more accessible, the bakery has posted recipes for the limited-edition dishes for people who can’t make it to its locations.
A show of strength for embattled Beyond
The Milk Bar collaboration is a positive sign for Beyond, and the wider plant-based meat sector in the US, where total broadline distributor pound sales of plant proteins dropped by 5% in 2025 (although sausage patties experienced a 2% hike).
US foodservice is also the worst-performing part of Beyond’s business. In Q2 2026, sales in this channel plunged by 27% compared to the year before, totalling just $8M. That’s part of a wider and longer-term decline for the company, which has seen revenues shrink for six consecutive quarters now.
In fact, it became a meme stock last year as its share price fell to a record low, and has been forced to deny rumours of bankruptcy. This month, it initiated a reverse stock split that converted every 30 shares into one to avoid being delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange.
To turn things around, the firm is focusing on nutrition-first positioning, centre-of-the-plate offerings like its mycelium steak filet, and diversified offerings. As part of the latter, it has introduced Beyond Immerse, a line of sparkling drinks high in protein, fibre, antioxidants, and electrolytes.
Beyond has teamed up with New York Knicks’ NBA-winning star Josh Hart to promote the beverages, which have been rolled out in stores across New York and, as of this week, Erewhon in Los Angeles.
The partnerships with Hart and Tosi’s Milk Bar are a reminder that the company remains a heavy hitter in the plant-based category, capable of pulling in big names to expand the reach of its products.
“We’re excited to partner with Milk Bar to help bring its guests exactly what they’ve been asking for,” said Danielle Armbrust, Beyond’s VP of marketing.
“One of our biggest goals at Beyond Meat is making plant-based eating more accessible by showing up in the places people already know and love. Collaborations like this invite new consumers to experience Beyond Meat in a fun, familiar setting and demonstrate just how delicious and versatile plant-based protein can be,” she added.
Across the Atlantic, Beyond teamed up with English former footballer and pundit Karen Carney for the BBQ season in the UK, and this week roped in NHS GP Dr Amir Khan and fitness entrepreneur Lucy Mecklenburgh to front its healthy eating campaign for the autumn.
