Conversation Starter
When I was a kid, my parents would barbeque a lot.
At least once a week, often on a Sunday afternoon when more time was available.
But I never understood why other families would eat hamburgers and hot dogs while I never saw those options.
My father would prepare meats: beef, chicken, pork, etc., as one customarily does in Argentina, which is to say, “meticulously” and sometimes expensively.
Watching a lot of TV growing up, I’d see characters in front of their Summer grills, but it was an underwhelming observation of what a chef or cook should be and what food should look like.
Suffice to say: I had a happy childhood and was well fed, but part of my progressive side always wondered about the sunk costs and farming efforts that went into delivering food onto my plate.
Today, a little unbeknownst to my attention because of the NBA and NHL playoffs and the NY Mets sometimes winning: Beyond Meat ($BYND) entered the public market.
According to my Twitter feed, Beyond Meat had the best IPO debut (+163%) since the Financial Crisis of the previous decade.
In the grand scheme of things, none of this financial fluff matter much.
One day doth not maketh one a bulletproof publicly-traded company.
Personally, I’ve never eaten a Beyond Meat burger (or another offering), but am glad the brand is part of the movement toward merging science with the food supply… in a positive manner:
“There are several macro reasons for the shift toward a more meatless future.
Urbanization, population growth, and a rising middle class lead to greater meat consumption. In 2016, approximately 55% of the world’s population lived in urban settlements, and this percentage is expected to increase to 60% by 2030, according to the UN.
Meanwhile, the world’s population is expected to surge to 9.6 billion by 2050, leading to a 61% increase in food production. Emerging markets are driving this growth: China, in particular, is the world’s largest consumer of meat, with protein consumption expected to grow 3–4% a year thanks to a rising middle class.
This increasing demand begs the question of how society will sustainably feed future generations, and meatless companies are looking to fill the gap.
Alternative protein sources can reduce negative environmental impact. As mentioned above, livestock is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, reducing livestock could free up global cropland, decrease soil erosion, and relieve pressure on the world’s water supply.
Consumers are seeking healthier food alternatives. Rising obesity rates across the globe coupled with consumer interest in healthier food alternatives are also driving demand for meatless proteins.”
I’ve always advocated for the Impossible Foods brand, which is seeing success in its own partnerships, including Burger King ($QSR), albeit still in the private market:
“On April 1, Burger King started testing the vegetarian burger, using a plant-based patty from Impossible Foods. The test took place in St. Louis and ‘went exceedingly well,’ a spokesperson for Restaurant Brands International (QSR), Burger King’s parent company, said. The spokesperson added that the sales of the Impossible Whopper are complementary to the regular Whopper.
That’s exactly what Burger King wants.
With the Impossible Whopper, Burger King is primarily targeting meat eaters who seek more balance in their diet. The new product is designed to ‘give somebody who wants to eat a burger every day but doesn’t necessarily want to eat beef every day, permission to come into the restaurants more frequently,’ Chris Finazzo, president of Burger King North America, told CNN Business when discussing the initial test.”
Will Beyond Meat vs. Impossible Foods be the next iOS vs. Android?
Maybe.
But really, who cares, so long as the food looks and tastes good.
The burger prices could come down a little bit for sure.
But that’s up to the public market to make happen.
