Recently, the company Beyond Meat became listed on the stock exchange, in a very famous and successful IPO. This may be a food blog, but we actually purchased some shares of Beyond Meat and did very well by them. We sold them a little while ago at a profit, but the shares have continued to fluctuate and rise. I am not a vegan, but one of my children is vegan. I have over the past few years purchased a fair number of vegetarian and vegan meat substitute products. Occasionally, I will purchase a vegetarian burger at a restaurant or fast food location, and I generally enjoy them, because for me a burger is always about the toppings. That’s just me, I know. I also often substitute Yves vegan ground round in recipes for ground beef (for example in Chile, pasta casseroles)
https://www.beyondmeat.com/products/
It’s hard for me to understand then, how this company is seen as so revolutionary and worthy of it’s current $170 USD a share valuation. I have tried the burgers, and the sausage, and I can say they taste fine. My vegan child has once tried the Tim Hortons sausage biscuit, and enjoyed it, but as a vegan, really doesn’t look for meat substitutes. She just looks for healthy foods with a variety of flavours and textures. At the grocery store, I have seen Beyond Meat burgers – for me a 2 pack for $7.49 CDN. I can’t say I will buy them at that price. When I do make beef burgers, I buy bulk packs of ground meat and make 20 or so burgers at the time for my gang of non-vegan boys. My vegan would just as soon try a grilled portobello on the BBQ.
So while I think that it’s great that Beyond Meat is producing many new vegan products, that they are available in grocery stores and fast food restaurants, and that they are receiving lots of publicity, I just don’t see that this one company will have the control over vegan food industry that the company’s market value implies. There is definitely a social phenomenon going on with Beyond Meat. This is just my opinion – and I’m often wrong!
The Superfoods Project 