Adds analyst comment in paragraph 4

By Anuja Bharat Mistry

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Beyond Meat BYND.O forecast annual revenue below estimates after posting a wider-than-expected loss on Wednesday, as the faux meat products maker faces persistent demand weakness, sending its shares down 6% in extended trading.

Beyond Meat has been losing the steam it garnered a few years ago as consumers began shifting to fresh and lower-priced animal meat alternatives over its processed vegan meat.

UK consumer goods giant Unilever ULVR.L, which recently ousted its CEO Hein Schumacher, has also been grappling with consecutive declines and looking to shed its plant-based meat producing brand.

"The plant-based meat industry is still struggling to figure out how best to appeal to customers, many of whom are more concerned with price - and taste and texture - than with the potential environmental or health benefits of buying meat alternatives," said Rachel Wolff, an analyst with eMarketer.

The company also said it will suspend operations in China, lay off 20 employees, and reduce jobs in North America and the European Union, affecting about 17% of its non-production workforce or 6% of its total global workforce.

Beyond Meat aims for a positive core profit run-rate by the end of 2026 and is making organizational changes and cutting costs to strengthen its financial position and long-term goals.

A relentless slump in demand from customers in restaurant and fast-food chains such as McDonald's MCD.N further dragged volume of products sold in the quarter to 2.1%, after rising 8% a year earlier.

It posted net loss of 65 cents per share, compared with analysts' estimate of loss of 43 cents as per data compiled by LSEG.

The company expects annual net revenue between $320 million and $335 million, below analysts' estimates of $337.6 million.

(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

((AnujaBharat.Mistry@thomsonreuters.com;))