Special Situation: Beyond Meat IPO

Article Excerpt

BEYOND MEAT (Nasdaq symbol BYND) designs its plant-based “beef,” “pork” and “chicken” to taste like real meat. This includes simulating the texture and appearance of meat. Beyond Meat plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq exchange. It aims to raise $100 million. The company has several prominent backers, including Bill Gates, Don Thompson (McDonald’s Corp.’s former CEO), and the co-founders of Twitter. The company’s flagship product is The Beyond Burger. Those patties are sold by grocers such as Kroger and Whole Foods, as well as appearing on restaurant menus for TGI Friday’s and A&W Canada. Instead of marketing and merchandising The Beyond Burger to vegans and vegetarians (who represent less than 5% of the U.S. population), it requests that the product be sold in the meat case at grocery retailers where meat-loving consumers are accustomed to shopping. So far, its products have proven very popular. We’ll keep an eye on the progress of the IPO and continue to update our advice. advice…