It really goes Beyond Meat...

When I first came to LMU from Seattle, I was very nervous about the transition it would mean for me. I had lived in the same house in the same town my entire life, and for the first time would be leaving the comfort of my home and my town where I had friends and family.

I knew this transition wouldn't be easy, but it would be worth it. To add to this large transitional period, I also made the decision to become vegan. I was determined to cut all animal sourced foods out of my diet in order to limit my contribution to environmental degradation. As a result, I spent countless days in my dorm room and the lair (dining hall) figuring out what I could eat and how I could stay healthy.

This ended up being a rather difficult task as my new life as a working college student meant I would be busier than ever, and vegan food on the go was not necessarily easy to come around. That's when I discovered Beyond Meat.

Beyond Meat is famous for their plant based "hamburger" meat that closely resembles the taste of cow sourced meat. I was thrilled to discover that I once again could eat fast food meals, not just the french fries! I found Beyond Meat burgers at Carl's Jr., Beyond Meat tacos and burritos at Del Taco, and even a Beyond Meat breakfast sandwich at Dunkin' Donuts!

My new found access to vegan fast food allowed me to eat with more convenience when I didn't have time to cook, when I was on the go, and when I was on the road. This product single-handedly improved my quality of life.

This is why I was so excited when I discovered that my M-School class and I would be hearing from the founder himself, Brent Taylor.

Brent Taylor came to LMU and discussed with my class the strategies he uses for product development. He discussed not only Beyond Meat, but also his new non-dairy drink for elders, Perennial.

The first word of advice Brent gave us, and really made sure to emphasize, was the importance of starting with a meaningful purpose and vision when you are creating a product.

He explained his research that backed his vision for Beyond meat: a plant-based meat created to improve the well-being of the consumer, the earth, and the animals.

This hit home for me as these were driving factors in becoming vegan myself. It is easy to assume that any large brand, who is able to grow at the rate that Beyond Meat has grown, is really in the business for the financial payout. This is why hearing Brent's vision left me so impressed, Beyond Meat had become a well-known successful brand by not only providing a delicious meat substitute for the vegetarian and vegan community, but also by having shared beliefs with the community.

Secondly, Brent explained the importance of having a competitive advantage. He told us that, "if it's hard to do, it gives you a good leg up". I took note of this comment because I thought it did an excellent job a simply stating the value in innovation and creativity. Hardly anything worth doing is ever easy!

Brent also told us that, "sometimes you need to give people what they cannot imagine until you put it in front of them". I thought this was a really interesting comment to reflect on as well. It was inspiring to me to think of innovative products as originally just unique thoughts in the creators imagination.

After giving us some tips and tricks, advice, and a brief history of himself and the products he has created, Brent told us a little about his method of product development. He explained the software he uses and the way that each individual point of action is delegated to different people working on the product.

He also told us about each stage in the process from discovery and ideation, to prototyping, and all the way to a commercial launch. It was cool to get a behind the scenes look at the product development process one of my favorite foods went through!

One thing that stood out to me when Brent explained the product development process, was the sensitive timeline attached to the process. One small delay from a single step in the process could push back the launch by months!

After the conclusion of his presentation, I made sure to let Brent know what an impact his creation has made on my life and thanked him! It was so cool to hear more about the story behind Beyond Meat and some lessons he learned along the way. I left the session feeling very inspired.

Who knows... maybe I'll create an innovative product of my own one day!