bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

Shares in vegan burger maker Beyond Meat rose more than 160 per cent on their market debut on Thursday, as investors look to cash in on the first publicly listed veggie meat company and the growing popularity of plant-based meat alternatives.
The stock opened at US$46, well above its IPO price of US$25. Shares surged minutes after starting to trade and were halted due to volatility. They traded up to US$72 during the day, before closing at US$65.75.
Beyond Meat, which has warned it may never turn a profit, closed with a market capitalisation of around US$3.8 billion, based on shares outstanding including underwriters’ option.
On Tuesday, the company raised the size and price of its offering after increased demand from investors. The IPO raised US$240 million.
The money raised from the IPO gives Beyond Meat firepower to compete with rivals in the increasingly crowded imitation meat market, such as Silicon Valley start-up Impossible Foods.

Beyond Meat founder and chief executive Ethan Brown said on Thursday the proceeds would be used to expand marketing efforts, develop new products, establish production centres in Europe and Asia and open additional manufacturing facilities in the United States.
The Los Angeles-based company, which counts actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Microsoft founder Bill Gates among its investors, aims to market its meatless burger patties and other products to meat-loving consumers. It avoids terms such as vegan or vegetarian, and instead displays its products in the meat case of supermarkets.
Plant-based substitutes for meat have been gaining popularity as more people shift towards vegan or vegetarian diets, amid growing concerns about health risks from eating meat, animal welfare and the environmental hazards of intensive animal farming.

Beyond Meat creates substitutes for meat by using ingredients that mimic the composition of animal-based meat, mainly employing pea protein that looks and cooks like beef or chicken.
Currently, about 70 per cent of the company’s revenues are generated by its flagship Beyond Burger patties. The company also sells imitation sausages and vegan ground beef.
But Beyond Meat said it has struggled with production capacity issues in the face of growing demand, and interruptions in the supply of pea protein, which it currently sources from two producers in Canada and France.
“We’re looking very much at not only expanding the number of pea protein providers but also getting into new types of protein,” Brown said.
Brown said protein blends, including from mung beans, brown rice and sunflower seeds, would not only offer pricing protection and supply chain diversity, but also provide consumers with a variety of plant-based protein options.
But Beyond Meat is not the only company vying for health-conscious consumers.
Tyson Foods, the No. 1 US meat processor, owned a 6.5 per cent stake in Beyond Meat, but last week said it sold its holding, as it looks to develop its own line of alternative protein products.
Swine fever ails more than just China’s favourite meat
Burger King and Impossible Foods last month started selling their vegan burger Impossible Whopper in 59 stores in and around St. Louis, Missouri, with nationwide sales expected by the end of the year.
Beyond Meat began selling its plant-based burger at more than 1,100 US locations of fast-food chain Carl’s Jnr in January.
In 2018, about US$50 million of Beyond Meat’s revenues came from retail sales, including at Amazon.com’s Whole Foods Market and Kroger Co supermarkets, while about US$37 million was generated at restaurants.
Brown said the company planned to expand its network of restaurant and retail partners outside the US, which currently accounts for 7 per cent of revenue, but declined to provide further details.
In 2018, Beyond Meat’s net loss narrowed marginally to US$29.89 million, from US$30.38 million a year earlier. Net revenue more than doubled to US$87.93 million in the same period.


Hong Kong stocks and gold start the Year of the Horse on a mixed note

Hong Kong regulators are right to scrutinise IPO applications

How China’s GigaDevice and Montage earned a place in the memory chip market

Will Chinese AI chip designer Enflame’s Shanghai IPO be another blockbuster?

Gains for vegan burger maker Beyond Meat as stock rises 160 per cent on debut

Beyond Meat’s IPO raised US$240 million on Thursday. On Tuesday, the company had to raise the size and price of its offering after increased demand from investors. Photo: Bloomberg

Packages of Beyond Meat Inc. plant-based burger patties are displayed for a photograph in Tiskilwa, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Beyond Meat Inc., the maker of vegan chicken and beef substitutes backed by some of the biggest names in food and technology, is seeking to raise as much as $184 million in its initial public offering. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

Ethan Brown, founder and chief executive officer of Beyond Meat Inc., speaks during an interview at the Nasdaq MarketSite during the company's initial public offering (IPO) in New York, U.S., on Thursday, May 2, 2019. Beyond Meat Inc. more than doubled in its trading debut after raising $241 million in an upsized initial public offering that priced at the top of the marketed range. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

Business

Companies


Stock opens at US$46, well above IPO price of US$25
Proceeds will be used to establish production centres in Europe and Asia



Shares in vegan burger maker Beyond Meat rose more than 160 per cent on their market debut on Thursday, as investors look to cash in on the first publicly listed veggie meat company and the growing popularity of plant-based meat alternatives.


Food and agriculture

Gains for vegan burger maker Beyond Meat as stock rises 160 per cent on debut

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Stock opens at US$46, well above IPO price of US$25 Proceeds will be used to establish production centres in Europe and Asia

Stock opens at US$46, well above IPO price of US$25

Proceeds will be used to establish production centres in Europe and Asia