Beyond Meat, a totally vegan fast food company that also has several Hollywood stars among its supporters as well as the founder of Microsoft Bill Gates has raised over 240 million euros with its public offer, bringing the value of the brand to one billion and half a euro and opening up to “flexitarians”.
The company has focused everything on changing consumers' eating habits to move to a model with zero or very little meat and related vegetarian alternatives.
“We believe that the persistent perception of harm to health, the environment and animal life represented by a meat-based diet will produce an ever-increasing demand for proteins from the plant world,” reads in his prospect.
In other words, the brand believes that vegetable protein diets can improve the relationship between consumers, their health and the conservation of resources, helping to counteract climate change as well.
This is a truly ambitious battle, having to clash with an industry like the meat industry which is currently worth 1.4 trillion euros: it is no coincidence that the growing popularity of Beyond Meat and its products does not yet make it a profitable company. It is growing rapidly, but cannot yet be considered profitable.
The need for a public offering arises precisely from the objective of expanding marketing channels, distribution and the human resources network, as well as production capabilities.
Proprietary technologies are also crucial in product development: Beyond Meat replicates the flavor, color, aroma and density of meat as closely as possible. He uses peas, beans and soya to create burgers and minced meat for his spaghetti "Bolognese" and his tacos.
The race for 'vegan' meat
Beyond Burger isn't the only company racing in the direction of the green burger: Beyond Burger's main competitor, Impossible, has developed a collaboration with Burger King to bring a totally vegan version of its best-selling sandwich, the Whopper, to its restaurants .
Even the giants Nestle and Unilever aim to expand their presence in this sector which promises to be very strong: famous testimonials (above all personalities, visionaries and artists of the caliber of Bill Gates, Leonardo Di Caprio, Madonna, Biz Stone co-founder of Twitter and even McDonald's Director Don Thompson) will increasingly lead the way.
And you? Are you ready for a nice bite of nature?