Beyond Meat IPO: Vegans Turn Fake Beef into $1.2 Billion Cash Cow
What’s the upside here? Well, people could realize you can eat similar food that doesn’t have the negative ethical or environmental impact that slaughtering 39 million cows a year has.
FRANCOIS AURE: ‘Beyond Meat, the vegan food manufacturer that wants to make fake beef mainstream, hopes to raise $183 million at a $1.2 billion valuation. Since we have their filing in hand, let’s take a look at two critical aspects of this innovative company. Beyond Meat largely owes its billion-dollar valuation to one product: the Beyond Burger. You can purchase this meatless burger at Carl’s Jr. or TGI Friday’s at a slight premium to regular beef. They also have announced that Del Taco will be launching a Beyond Meat taco, presumably with the vegan “meat” as the filling.
Here’s how the Beyond Meat IPO filing describes the company’s mission: “We employ a revolutionary and unique approach to create our products, with a goal of delivering the same satisfying taste, texture, and aroma as the animal-based meats we seek to replicate. In our Manhattan Beach Project Innovation Center, our scientists and engineers continuously improve our products to replicate the sensory experience of animal-based meat”…
Disrupting an industry as powerful as global meat was always going to be an expensive job, and it appears that the costs of materials and supply chain are going to be an inhibitor for growth. What’s the upside here? Well, people could realize you can eat similar food that doesn’t have the negative ethical or environmental impact that slaughtering 39 million cows a year has. Make this product smell like beef when you cook it, and you are really onto something.
Vegan meat is a growth industry. It’s not hard to see why. However, there is one additional problem. These burgers carry a hefty price tag at the grocery store. At my local Target, a two-burger package runs a full $6. That’s hardly affordable for most consumers. Regardless of these issues, Beyond Meat is already a sticky brand, and the company can undoubtedly innovate further with a capital injection’. SOURCE…
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