Beyond Meat listing ‘raises the bar’ for plant-based meat industry says GFI Executive

Good Food Institute Executive Director commends Beyond Meat for its leadership, says the company’s IPO will drive sales and boost the availability of plant-based meats to meet increasing consumer demand.

“Beyond Meat is a pioneer of the plant-based meat movement, and the listing is a remarkable and unprecedented move for the industry,” said Good Food Institute Executive Director Bruce Friedrich.

“We commend Beyond Meat’s leadership as they continue to raise the bar in their efforts to transform the food system and to meet growing consumer demand for plant-based meat products,” said Mr. Friedrich.

“While it’s the first company of its kind to go public, the move could pave a way forward for other plant-based meat makers who will be watching on.

“The listing is an extremely rare exit strategy in the highly centralized food industry and is almost unheard of in the plant-based food space. The only known exit of this kind was WhiteWave Foods’ initial public offering in 2012. This strategy raised $391 million for the plant-based food company and positioned it for a $12.5 billion acquisition by Danone five years later.

“Securing funds like this is a big deal for Beyond Meat and will allow it to ramp up its supply chain capabilities and make delicious plant-based meat accessible to all.

“This is a movement that goes beyond one company and it is accelerating rapidly, buoyed by surging investor support during recent years. We expect that investor demand was the key driver behind the company’s decision to increase the size of its offering and raise its price range earlier in the week.

“Investors recognize that this is not a niche but a mainstream movement and a huge business opportunity. The plant-based meat industry is thriving, and consumers can’t get enough. Companies are racing to keep up with intense consumer demand for their products and, certainly for Beyond Meat, revenue is rising rapidly year-on-year.

“Beyond Meat is on the frontier of food system transformation. Their success and the successes of other plant-based meat makers could help repair our food system and mitigate the many harms caused by conventional meat production.

“Breakthroughs in food science have seen these companies winning the affections of carnivores with delicious products that are indistinguishable from real meat. These are revolutionary technologies that will make a remarkable difference to the world,” he said.

Media inquiries: Maia Keerie at The Good Food Institute on 415 767 8973 or via maiak@gfi.org

The Good Food Institute (GFI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working internationally to make alternative proteins delicious, affordable, and accessible.