The news of increased investment in both plant-based and cell-based meat alternative products reflects the growing consumer interest in veganism and vegetarianism. The news also follows the company Beyond Meat’s IPO debut at the start of May 2019, which saw the share price surging 163 percent. The company manufactures ‘meat-like’ products using pea proteins.
The new data compiled by The Good Food Institute indicates that it is not only Beyond Meat that is attracting investors. The trend is with investment in various plant-based and cell-based sectors rising.
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Key insights from The Good Food Institute survey are that over $16 billion has been invested in U.S. plant-based meat, egg, and dairy companies since 2009. This level of investment has increased in recent years, with $13 billion in 2017 and 2018 alone. A further trend is with company purchases. of the 19 acquisitions of plant-based companies that have occurred since 2009, ten took place in 2017 and 2018. Some of these investments are coming from companies that are primarily associated with meat products. Manufacturers of largely meat-based products are also launching their own vegan brands. For example, in the U.S. Tyson Foods, is to launch its own plant-based products line, manufacturing meat alternatives made out of plants.
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As well as plant-based foods, consumer interest in cell-based meat is also strong. A recent survey, run by the University of Bath (U.K.), of 3,030 consumers, found that 30 percent of U.S. consumers, 59 percent of Chinese consumers, and 50 percent of Indian consumers were very or extremely likely to purchase cell-based meat regularly.
A further sign of growth in the meat-alternative sector is with new company formation Here eleven new cell-based meat companies were founded in 2018. This addition brings the total number of companies to publicly announce themselves to 27.
