Beyond Meat became the first plant-based food company to go public on a major exchange on 2 May.
On 2 May, Beyond Meat listed on Nasdaq, and since then $1.6 billion has been added to the value of the company’s holdings.
In a statement at the time of the listing, Beyond Meat said it is excited for what going public will enable the company to do, like further investing in R&D and manufacturing, allowing Beyond Meat to bring its plant-based meats to more communities and countries around the world.
“Through success and struggles, the consumer has been there for us, offering feedback, love and inspiration. Today, together, we are breaking new ground.”
Since the company’s stock-market debut, the six largest shareholders of Beyond Meat, which include Kleiner Perkins, Obvious Ventures, DNS-BYMT LLC, Ethan Brown, Cleveland Avenue and Seth Goldman, haven’t sold any shares. As a result, a combined $1.6 billion has been added to the value of the company’s holdings since the start of the month.
Beyond Meat’s success has shown that meat alternatives are becoming increasingly popular to the masses, with the company’s value quickly approaching the $7.3 billion market capitalisation of traditional meat supplier Pilgrim’s Pride Corp, and becoming the second-best performing IPO in the US this year after Shockwave Medical.
With consumers increasingly scaling back on meat consumption, the alternative meat industry could be worth more than $34 billion by 2030, with a possible annual growth rate over the next decade of 40 percent, according to TD Asset Management
Beyond Burger, the flagship product of Beyond Meat, launched in South Africa in November 2018. It is available in various restaurants.
