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Earth Businesses

Beyond Meat's Shares More than Double After Monumental IPO (inc.com) 132

Posted by EditorDavid from the meaty-investments dept.
"Investors have a big appetite for fake meat," writes the Associated Press. The shares of Beyond Meat, the purveyor of plant-based burgers and sausages, more than doubled Thursday in its Nasdaq debut. It's the first pure-play maker of vegan "meat" to go public, according to Renaissance Capital, which researches and tracks IPOs. Beyond Meat raised about $240 million selling 9.6 million shares at $25 each. Those shares rose 163 percent to close at $65.75.

The 10-year-old company has attracted celebrity investors like Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and actor Leonardo DiCaprio and buzz for placing its products in burger joints like Carl's Jr. It sells to 30,000 grocery stores, restaurants and schools in the U.S., Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom and Israel... Still, Beyond Meat has never made an annual profit, losing $30 million last year. It's also facing serious competition from other "new meat" companies like Impossible Foods and traditional players like Tyson Foods Inc. Tyson recently sold a stake in Beyond Meat because it plans to develop its own alternative meat.

The IPO comes amid growing consumer interest in plant-based foods for their presumed health and environmental benefits. U.S. sales of plant-based meats jumped 42 percent between March 2016 and March 2019 to a total of $888 million, according to Nielsen. Traditional meat sales rose 1 percent to $85 billion in that same time frame. The trend is a global one. U.K. sales of meat alternatives jumped 18 percent over the last year, while sales of traditional meat and poultry slid 2 percent... The company says a plant-based burger takes 99 percent less water and 93 percent less land to produce than a beef burger, and generates 90 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
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Beyond Meat's Shares More than Double After Monumental IPO More

Beyond Meat's Shares More than Double After Monumental IPO

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  • Not aimed at vegans/vegetarians (Score:3, Informative)

    by tgibson ( 131396 ) on Sunday May 05, 2019 @02:46PM (#58542464) Homepage

    For those who haven't been following these companies, the products are being marketed to meat-eaters as an attractive alternative to meat. As a general proposition, vegetarians/vegans have no desire to eat something marketed as being indistinguishable from beef.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward

      I eat a lot less meat than other people, primarily for ecological reasons. This is also targetted to people like me.

      • Re:Not aimed at vegans/vegetarians (Score:5, Interesting)

        by ranton ( 36917 ) on Sunday May 05, 2019 @04:04PM (#58542824)

        I eat a lot less meat than other people, primarily for ecological reasons. This is also targetted to people like me.

        You are the actual primary group this product is marketed towards. Omnivores who are trying to cut down on their meat consumption. Vegetarians are still far more likely to buy this product than someone who eats meat, but Beyond Meat purposely tries to get companies to stock their product in the meat isle to get as many omnivores as possible.

        I would still put my money on lab grown meat over plant based substitutes if I was investing for the long term, but it's good to have a variety of options. I eat far more meat than I should from a dietary perspective and look forward to as many meat substitutes as scientists can come up with. I have tried Beyond Burgers and they still aren't quite good enough, but they are far better than any other soy based burgers I have tried.

        • Re:Not aimed at vegans/vegetarians (Score:4, Interesting)

          by Solandri ( 704621 ) on Monday May 06, 2019 @01:55AM (#58544760)
          Dedicated meat-eater here. The restaurant at the hotel I used to work at would occasionally have left-over veggie burgers after an event, and the staff were allowed to eat them. I don't discriminate against vegetables, so I tried them. They were better than meat. The rest of the staff seemed to agree too because whenever there were veggie burgers and regular hamburgers left over, the veggie burgers would disappear first.

          I looked for them from a retail source so I could eat them at home, and got to see the nutrition label. The manufacturer loaded them up with saturated fat (from vegetables) to make them tasty. That seems to be the key, because we tried a different product with little saturated fat once. Those didn't go over well.. Unless you're a meat aficionado, people don't seem to care about the texture or flavor as much as they do the tastiness you get with saturated fat.

          In the end, what matters is how much it costs vs. how tasty it is. Whether it's from meat or plants is irrelevant (except to vegetarians/vegans). And if the veggie burgers I've had were any indication, then these companies stand a good chance of succeeding.
          • What kinds of vegetables have saturated fat?
          • You know that reminds me of something funny. I'm not a vegetarian/vegan, but when it comes to pizza, I prefer vegetarian. At work, whenever we have pizza catered in for lunch/meetings, the coordinator always orders a veggie pizza on my behalf. It's a bit of a running joke that I'm always the one eating veggie pizza in a sea of people eating pepperoni/chicken pizzas.

            The funny thing is, I'll take one or two slices and folks *always* grab the remainder of the veggie slices before they get the meat ones.

      • Have you tasted one?

    • I don't eat plants, but I'm not averse to speculating on stocks of companies who's products I won't eat.

    • As a general proposition, vegetarians/vegans have no desire to eat something marketed as being indistinguishable from beef.

      (facepalm)

      You're saying they're vegetarian/vegan because they don't like the taste...?

      • No. Do you not know anyone who's vegetarian or vegan?

        If you're an adult talking to another adult, chances are they made their non-meat-eating choice a decade or two ago. It's quite likely that they haven't eaten meat in 20+ years!

        The smell, taste and texture of meat is totally foreign to them at this point. They associate it with "what other people eat" and "the restaurant made a mistake". That's not a selling point for them. For meat eaters, selling "it's pretty indistinguishable from meat but cheaper/heal

    • As a general proposition, vegetarians/vegans have no desire to eat something marketed as being indistinguishable from beef.

      Why on earth not? I know a few people who became vegetarian (as opposed to being raised that way), and some of them confessed they do miss the taste and texture of good meat. So far they seem to have been the primary target market for fake meats: they don't want the real thing, but if there's a close alternative, they are willing to pay extra and compromise. People who enjoy meat on the other hand are not big fans of the fakes so far, and rightly so: most of the soy or veg based ones I tried taste like m

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Strider- ( 39683 )

        The beyond meat stuff is actually remarkably close in taste and texture to ground meat. As someone who is omnivorous, but also recognizes the environmental impact of modern meat production, having a palletable alternative to ground beef is intriguing. That said, I also understand that ground beef is generally a byproduct made up of the otherwise un-saleable portions bits that would otherwise go to waste.

        • The beyond meat stuff is actually remarkably close in taste and texture to ground meat.

          Not if that "ground meat" is made of actual meat. What you see in shops way too often consists of random organs and some trimmings, stuffed with a massive amount of chemicals and seasonings to hide the taste. The same chemicals and seasonings are used in fake meat from this article. But if you get actual meat and grind it, it's a world of difference.

          ground beef is generally a byproduct made up of the otherwise un-saleable portions bits that would otherwise go to waste

          Exactly. But they're unsaleable for a reason -- I don't want to ingest that stuff.

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by ranton ( 36917 )

            What you see in shops way too often consists of random organs and some trimmings, stuffed with a massive amount of chemicals and seasonings to hide the taste.

            I'm not sure what shops you frequent, but most ground beef I see at grocery stores clearly state the cut of meat it came from. Generally chuck but sometimes round or something else. Perhaps if you are looking for the cheapest $1.99/lb option at the store you will get something more questionable, but that certainly isn't the norm.

          • Sometimes the ground beef is indeed ground beef. Checking the label helps. I know in the past that the ground beef was from pieces that didn't otherwise have a nice name, not fancy enough for steaks or roasts. If you're at a nice restaurant they're not going to serve you the junk in a burger because you can tell the difference.

          • Not really. It is essentially trimmings from beef used during the butchering. But you are on the "vegan team" and you are going to live forever, yawn.

          • What kind of ass backward country do you live in where that is permissible?

            Over here in the real world, modern nations ban that sort of thing - here, "ground beef" (or as I know it, minced beef) is 100% the same as any of the steaks on the shelves, in that its proper flesh. Depending on the grade you buy it may be steak minced for the purpose, or it may be trimmings from other cuts minced instead. But its all proper flesh.

             

            • "Depending on the grade you buy it may be steak minced for the purpose, or it may be trimmings from other cuts minced instead. But its all proper flesh."

              Yep. Noses and udders and a bucket full of eyes to make it stick better together,

          • It's insanely simple to grind you own meat which I often do.

            Of late, the regular grocery stores around me have been having sales on larger cuts of meat and it it below what store ground beef costs.

            I've gotten some of the smaller primal (well to me they are) and watched a YouTube video on how to cut them into roasts, etc....and I usually do a roast or two out of it and then grind the rest in my meat grinder for ground beef.

            The stuff is amazing!! And it only takes a few minutes.

            At costco, you can guy who

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by epine ( 68316 )

              It's insanely simple to grind you own meat which I often do.

              For a while, I believed this, too, across the board.

              A couple of years back, I started buying whole chickens in Costco three-packs, and doing my own 10-piece cuts (breasts are divided in half top to bottom; the backs don't count as a piece).

              Pretty quickly I figured out that butchering any quantity of whole chicken less than three at a time wasn't worth the cleanup effort. My brother has a second food preparation in his basement, which he uses for ra

        • "That said, I also understand that ground beef is generally a byproduct made up of the otherwise un-saleable portions bits that would otherwise go to waste."

          Just say it: It's ground noses and udders.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Strider- ( 39683 )

            No, i'm thinking off-cuts from inside round that are too small, chuck, flank, other things that are less saleable, and so forth. Probably the neck muscles too... I'm not talking noses and ears here.

            • "No, i'm thinking off-cuts from inside round that are too small, chuck, flank, other things that are less saleable, and so forth. Probably the neck muscles too... I'm not talking noses and ears here."

              Talk to you butcher then, he will crush your illusions.

      • they don't want the real thing, but if there's a close alternative, they are willing to pay extra and compromise.

        There's a name for people who are willing to pay extra for an inferior product: suckers.

      • > they are willing to pay extra and compromise

        I'll definitely try it eventually, but if it costs more it'll be a one time thing. If it's plant based it should be significantly cheaper or it won't make it in my shopping cart.

        Ferret

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      They are also far from "indistinguishable" unless you like heavily processed meat. I do not.

      • Bullshit.

        Either you only eat black angus sirloin burgers prepared by master chefs, or you haven't tried it.

        If you eat ground chuck like everyone else at 99% of the places the serve burgers, you'll struggle with this burger. The first one I had had vegan cheese on it, which fucking ruined the burger. The second one I had I put cheddar and bacon on it. It was juicy, a bit pink in the middle, had a nice dark brown sear on the outside, grill marks, and it was all fatty and greasy in my mouth. I picked off a hun

        • Can confirm. I tried the 'meatless' burger from A&W and I couldn't tell the difference. I stopped and looked at the patty a few times to see if really wasn't meat. I'm not ashamed to admit, I even poked at it and pulled chunks out to be sure.

          Something to bear in mind however, the calorie count is still pretty horrific. If you're eating a meatless burger because you think it's the healthier/lower calorie option, I got some bad news for you..

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

      Not at all. It's being marketed to general public as "if you believe in saving the planet, you should stop eating meat. And since meat is great, you could try this sorta kinda meat replacement".

      Added fashionability points for ideological "star investors".

      There are hundreds of "meat replacement" projects like this that don't have "star investors" but aren't really meaningfully different in other ways. All are horrible, but currently trendy among the foodies. Like most trendy foodie things, they'll last a cou

      • Average people aren't in any meaningful way a target demographic for this sort of stuff because for average people, food isn't a fashion statement. It's an expense.

        I think price is precisely why this is going to be hugely successful. Making a meat equivalent directly from plants will eventually be a lot cheaper than feeding a cow for a few years. Right now it's still selling at a premium because the production scale isn't there yet and they can't keep up with demand, but give it time. The price will get there.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

          Imagine being so deeply religious as to think you can literally reinvent about a billion years of evolutionary selection in a matter of years. When being barely able to scratch the surface of just how efficient modern life forms are.

          • The conversion efficiency of plants to meat via cows is about 3%. That number is roughly the same whether you look at the conversion of plant protein to animal protein, or just calories. So all a good plant-based meat substitute needs to do to be more efficient, is not lose 97% somewhere in the processing. https://iopscience.iop.org/art... [iop.org]

      • Average people aren't in any meaningful way a target demographic for this sort of stuff because for average people, food isn't a fashion statement. It's an expense. And in expense, price comes first. So massively overpriced lower quality product is in no way even remotely competitive.

        We are omnivores who have veggie burgers about as often as meat burgers. They aren't a "fashion statement" because we have them at home and nobody sees us eat them.

        I wouldn't call them "massively overpriced"; they aren't significantly different from meat burgers that are already formed into patties and sold as patties.

        Nor would I call them "horrible". They wouldn't fool me as being meat, they are different, but we actually like the difference.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

          When you say "we are omnivores who have veggie burgers about as often as meat burgers", you're stating "we are a subgroup of foodies".

          Average people don't eat veggie burgers and if they do, they don't carry it as a badge of honour the way you do it. They're a product for the small minority who trying to both show that they have the street cred for eating burgers, and foodie cred for making them veggie.

          That's an even smaller portion of the society, as it's a subgroup of foodies.

        • ...aren't significantly different from meat burgers that are already formed into patties and sold as patties.

          Ugh....who actually eats those pre-formed things by choice?

          I mean, if you're having a cookout maybe with a TON of people maybe you do, but for normal cookouts, I can't imagine anyone buying that crap.

          Get some good ground beef (if you're even a little more industrious, grind your own), if you want a quality burger.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by morcego ( 260031 )

      I wouldn't dare speak for ALL vegans and vegetarians, but most of ones I know have no problems with this, think it is a great idea and would try it if available around here.

      Why would vegans be against something that is marketed as being indistinguishable from beef? It check all the boxes, including the ethical ones.

    • I agree with that. I've been eating the gardenburger products because you can grill them, which gives us a way to participate in barbecues and such. But I just can't stomach Beyond Meat.

      The unfortunate part of this is that chains have switched from garden burgers or boca burgers to "beyond meat" burgers, which means I as a vegetarian either order something else or eat somewhere else.

      Parenthetically, who's idea was it to make the Beyond Meat patty twice as thick as a regular burger patty? I might be able

    • And because some of these meat substitutes contain genetically modified plant ingredients, vegans probably won't eat them anyway. Better to aim them at the low-calorie market.

    • As a general proposition, vegetarians/vegans have no desire to eat something marketed as being indistinguishable from beef.

      umm... yes they do. Not all vegetarians stopped eating meat for the animal aspect. Some do it for the financial, some for the environmental, some for health, etc.

      I regularly eat Tofurky, Ives, and Gardenia products and wish they could make a decent bacon replacement.

      All that said, the Beyond Burger is mediocre at best. It has a weird aftertaste, isn't particularly satisfying or filling, and doesn't compare to better soy alternatives.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sad_ ( 7868 )

      it's for everyone, but the main seller is that people who like the _taste_ of meat can now also eat vegi without losing the great taste of meat.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by crgrace ( 220738 )

      I've been a vegetarian for almost 30 years. I absolutely love Beyond Meat's hamburgers and we make them at the house a couple of times a month.

      I found out Carl's Jr is using them in one of their burgers and I went to try it last weekend. It was amazing. So good. I hadn't been to a Carl's Jr in 30 years!

      I hope this company is successful because their product is incredible.

  • Is these "crypto meats". Animals are going to die anyway so you might as well enjoy the real thing.
  • And this one brings us imitation meat.

  • This is what happens when most of the wealth is concentrated at the top. The only way to get richer is to scam it off of other already-rich people. There's absolutely nothing novel about this fake meat. It's the veggie version of pink slime, which has already been done before.

    The real innovation in fake meat is going to be when they can grow meat in vats of goo, without the animals, on a commercially profitable scale. That's not at all what this company is doing. It's a ground-up-plant-crap-shaped-into-meat

  • No such thing exists. It's like almond or rice milk. No, those are juices - milk comes from mammals. Meat comes from flesh. These plant-based substitutes may be tasty, people might like them - but they are not meat. They're just plant matter with artificial flavoring and coloring and lots of processing to fool you into thinking it may be something meat-like...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Cyberax ( 705495 )
      If it tastes like meat, if it looks like meat then it's meat. Ditto for milk. What's all this obsession with udders?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      > It's like almond or rice milk. No, those are juices

      Most English-speakers are fine with the concept of apple butter, or a variety of nut butters. And peanuts aren't even nuts.

      The dairy lobby may have been able to get their way with the FDA and product labeling, but they aren't the language police just yet.

  • Apple of Vegan Products (Score:3)

    by cormandy ( 513901 ) on Sunday May 05, 2019 @06:41PM (#58543428)
    This company is the Apple of meat substitutes. They're not the first by a long shot - veggie burgers, both good and bad, have been around for decades - but they most certainly have hype on their side.

  • It's high in saturated fats and sodium, it has more calories, and probably costs more money. Eating highly processed food that has similar health risks isn't really a better alternative to meat.

    If someone wants to reduce their eating of red meat, do so. By eating other meats or just eating less. Those options are solutions that have a positive impact on the planet and your health. I've found that 4 ounces of any meat are more than enough for a meal, anything over 6 starts to become too much. Condition y

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