One of the most hotly anticipated food company IPOs of 2019 is set to hit the market this coming Thursday, May 2nd – Beyond Meat, Inc. (Nasdaq Ticker: BYND). From the Beyond Meat offering prospectus:
“Beyond Meat is one of the fastest growing food companies in the United States, offering a portfolio of revolutionary plant-based meats. We build meat directly from plants, an innovation that enables consumers to experience the taste, texture and other sensory attributes of popular animal-based meat products while enjoying the nutritional benefits of eating our plant-based meat products. Our brand commitment, “Eat What You Love,” represents our strong belief that by eating our plant-based meats, consumers can enjoy more, not less, of their favorite meals, and by doing so, help address concerns related to human health, climate change, resource conservation and animal welfare. The success of our breakthrough innovation model and products has allowed us to appeal to a broad range of consumers, including those who typically eat animal-based meats, positioning us to compete directly in the $1.4 trillion global meat industry.”
Beyond Meat products can be found in grocery stores across America in the frozen and meat departments and the company’s flagship product, the Beyond Burger, is being served at Carls, Jr., TGI Fridays, A&W, and Dog Haus restaurants.
On April 30, the company issued an amended IPO filing increasing the number of shares to be offered and the offering price due to extremely high demand for the shares. Beyond Meat is expected to begin trading on Thursday, May 2nd and is offering 9.63 million shares to be priced between $23-25/share to anyone able to acquire some of the small IPO allocation. This values Beyond Meat at nearly $1.5 billion.
In anticipation of this IPO, I decided to head to my local Whole Foods and pickup some of the Beyond Burgers to try out. The two-burger pack was found in the “alternative meats” section of Whole Foods and was priced at $5.99. I had a $1 off coupon that I found on the Beyond Meat website that brought the price down to $4.99.
The Beyond Burger patties look remarkably like traditional beef burgers! It was quite extraordinary to see what Beyond Meat was able to do with Pea Protein, the base ingredient in their products! The directions call for cooking the patties for three minutes on each side on medium high/high heat. What I wish I had known ahead of time was to grease the grill grates. It turns out the grill at my apartment community has some issues with sticking (even with regular beef burgers). However, the burgers cooked similarly to beef and even caused some flareups due to the coconut oil in the burgers melting!
After three minutes on each side, I took the burgers off the grill and placed them on some sourdough buns I picked up at Whole Foods. The color on the inside of the burgers looked rare if comparing to a beef burger, but it was warm/hot throughout. One thing I have read online about Beyond Burgers is that you do not want to overcook them as it destroys the flavor and becomes dry and tough. The red color of the Beyond Burger comes from the beet juice added during the production process.
The Taste
I was shocked at the flavor and texture of the Beyond Burger after my first bite. The mouth chew was so similar to beef that it would be hard to distinguish the two. The flavor was very, very, close to beef. I have tried veggie burgers before and the Beyond Burger is in a league of its own in this regard.
This burger is definitely targeted to the meat eater looking to try something new, or to do something good for the environment since, compared to beef burgers, the Beyond Burger uses:
Beyond Meat also produces a frozen Beyond Beef Crumble that I picked up from Safeway for $3.99 ($4.99 - $1 off coupon) and plan to make taco meat with it. I imagine the Beyond Beef Crumbles will work very well in absorbing the flavor of the taco seasoning and provide a great non-meat alternative to a favorite dish! Another Beyond Meat product you can try is the Beyond Sausage - $2 off coupon.
Have you tried Beyond Meat before? Let me know what you think!