Beyond Meat, a major player in the fast-growing plant-based “meat” industry, markets products that many shoppers buy specifically for nutrition—especially protein. In this settlement, consumers alleged that certain Beyond Meat labels and marketing overstated the amount and/or quality of protein in some products sold in the U.S. between May 31, 2018, and August 14, 2024. The case reflects how, as alternative-protein foods move from niche to mainstream shelves, buyers increasingly scrutinize whether front-of-package claims match what they’re actually getting in the carton. The lawsuit was filed because plaintiffs said they paid a premium based on protein-related representations that were allegedly misleading, making it a classic “price premium” false-advertising dispute rather than a product-safety case. Beyond Meat agreed to a $7.5 million class settlement that offers eligible purchasers $2 per product (up to $10 without proof of purchase, with higher claims possible if receipts are provided) with a claim deadline of April 14, 2025. Its significance is less about any single payout and more about reinforcing that nutrition marketing can create legal exposure when consumers claim they relied on protein claims in deciding what to buy. Broader implications extend across packaged foods, especially protein-forward categories like plant-based meats, bars, shakes, and “high-protein” snacks, where companies compete aggressively on grams of protein and perceived protein “quality.” In the U.S., food labeling is primarily governed by FDA rules for Nutrition Facts panels and nutrient content claims, and advertisers can also face scrutiny under state consumer-protection statutes and FTC standards that require marketing claims to be truthful and substantiated. Similar class actions have targeted alleged misstatements about nutrition attributes (from “protein” to “natural” to “healthy”), and this settlement underscores that as consumer demand for better-for-you foods rises, so does litigation risk when headline claims are perceived as stretching beyond what the label supportably conveys.