A US judge has reduced Beyond Meat’s trademark infringement penalty from a lawsuit brought by Sonate, the parent company of Vegadelphia Foods.
The judgment, entered in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, cut the penalty from $38.9m to $15.4m after reducing the jury’s damages award from $23.5m to $37,500.
Sonate had alleged Beyond Meat and Dunkin' Donuts infringed its registered trademark, “Where Great Taste is Plant-Based”, through their use of the slogans “Great Taste Plant-Based” and “Plant-Based Great Taste”.
Beyond Meat used the slogan in a joint advertising partnership with US fast-food chain Dunkin’ Donuts.
The infringement filing dates to 2022, with Sonate alleging Beyond Meat’s use of the slogan was likely to confuse consumers.
A jury found Beyond Meat liable for trademark infringement in November and ruled the company could not rely on a fair-use defence.
It awarded Sonate $23.5m in actual damages and $15.4m in disgorgement of Beyond Meat’s profits.
Beyond Meat subsequently sought to reduce or eliminate the award, while Sonate sought prejudgment interest and an increase in the disgorgement amount.
The court denied Sonate’s motions and partially granted Beyond Meat’s request.
It reduced the damages to $37,500 but upheld the $15.4m disgorgement award.
In a post-trial order, US District Judge Indira Talwani said Sonate had provided sufficient evidence to support only $37,500 in lost profits from its existing business.
The larger damages award was linked to alleged losses from the proposed “Vegadelphia 2.0” venture, a proposed expansion of Sonate’s plant-based food business, which never proceeded.
The judge found the future business claim too speculative because no final contract had been signed, no ready-for-market products had been developed and no formal marketing plan was in place.
“No reasonable jury could find it probable, based on non-speculative evidence, that Beyond’s infringement of Sonate’s trademark was a substantial factor in the abandonment of Vegadelphia 2.0,” the judge wrote.
Beyond Meat and Sonate may pursue further motions or appeals, according to the US alt-meat group’s stock-exchange filing on Tuesday (22 September).
The judgment comes as Beyond Meat continues to face declining sales and pressure on profitability.
In the second quarter of 2026, revenue fell 8.2% year on year to $68.8m, while gross margin declined to 8.5% from 10.6%.
The company recorded net income of $16.4m, compared with a $31.8m loss in the prior-year period, largely because of a $57.7m non-cash gain linked to conversions of its 2030 notes.
Adjusted EBITDA remained negative at $27.7m.
Beyond Meat expects third-quarter revenue of approximately $60m-65m.
CEO Ethan Brown said the company was working to “stabilise” its plant-based meat business while expanding into adjacent plant-protein categories.
