Beyond Meat sees sales more than doubling in 2019, shares jump 21pc

It was the latest big move in a rally that has shown Wall Street's appetite for vegan burgers.

Beyond Meat reported revenue of $40.2 million, more than triple the prior year. Analysts consider Beyond Meat's strategic placement a "strong advantage" over competitors and a differentiating factor in reaching the broadest possible USA market which they estimate to be $100 billion by 2035. The excitement here is about the clear increase in demand for foods that resemble meat but aren't made out of it.

The company also stands to benefit from strategic partnerships.

And of course it now faces the challenge of backing up the optimistic projections, as the competition builds.

"It remains to be seen how long BYND can keep this growth of over 200 per cent, though likely it will remain strong for some time", he said in an email, referring to the company by its ticker on the Nasdaq Global Market. That was better than the 15-cent loss analysts had forecast.

Beyond Meat is marketing its meat substitutes to vegetarians and vegans, and to consumers desirous of restricting their meat intake for health or environmental reasons. The market for meat alternatives could reach approximately US$140 billion and take 10 per cent of the US$1.4 trillion meat market, according to research from Barclays. He did say he expects the company's second and third quarters to be its busiest. Chief executive officer Ethan Brown, on a postearnings conference call with analysts, said the forecast was "very conservative" and views it "as a floor".

"I don't think it will ever be as big as meat, but it's definitely adding growing sales which is something every retailer is looking for", he said.

Brown said the company is in the testing phase with several fast-food chains, but he wouldn't say which ones.

The fake meat maker posted a loss of $6.6 million in the quarter, compared to a loss of $5.7 million in that period a year ago.

Canadian packaged meat producer Maple Leaf Foods Inc, which sells plant-based meat alternatives such as vegan ground beef under its LightLife brand, expects its products in the meat case of USA retailers by this summer.

And there are other headwinds. Companies have been making center-of-plate products based on Beyond Meat's offerings, as well as those from rival Impossible Foods.

Burger King saw sales grow 28% at its St. Louis market in April after it started selling the Impossible Whopper there, according to data from Technomic Transaction Insights.

Maybe there will be enough demand for all of them.

Beyond Meat is in its early stages of growth, the company said, focusing on efforts to increase brand awareness, launch new products, and meet the demand for plant-based meat.