Animal-free meat, dairy firms plan scale-up

Traditionally, purveyors of meat and dairy substitutes have sold their products to the roughly 5% of Western consumers who are vegetarian or vegan. But Beyond Meat and Perfect Day are among a new wave of companies aiming for the broader public.

Beyond Meat has filed a prospectus for an initial public offering worth $100 million. Its products are available in grocery stores, with its popular, plant-based hamburger displayed in the meat case. The company says 93% of the shoppers at Kroger grocery stores who buy its products also buy animal meats. In the first nine months of 2018, Beyond Meat’s sales reached $56 million, up 167% versus the year-ago period. Its net loss for 2018 was $22 million.

According to its filing, Beyond Meat plans to use the funds to grow its distribution to retail stores and restaurants as well as to expand internationally. The company also plans to triple its monthly production capacity and develop new products. In July, it opened a 2,400-m² innovation center in Los Angeles.

Separately, Perfect Day, a start-up that makes dairy proteins such as casein via fermentation with microbes, has struck a joint development agreement with agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland. The two companies will work to optimize and scale up production of the proteins.

“ADM has been a leader in plant proteins for decades,” says Victoria de la Huerga, vice president of ADM Ventures. “We are excited to work with Perfect Day to launch a complementary source of dairy protein that could lead to a myriad of opportunities for food innovators and consumers.”

Unlike Beyond Meat, Perfect Day has not yet commercialized any products. It plans to reach the market by partnering with established food brands.