Thursday, 15 August 2024 Reading time : 2 minutes

A glance at the supermarket shelves reveals an impressive variety of alternative protein sources. But you can also find dishes with meat substitutes on restaurant menus, and even the burger stand offers plant-based alternatives.

One of the pioneers in this food segment is Beyond Meat. The US company has made a name for itself with plant-based burgers that are almost indistinguishable from real meat in terms of appearance and texture. The company dared to go public back in 2019. However, the initial optimism has since evaporated, as can be seen from the development of the share price: The shares are still trading at around USD 6.00 today, having risen significantly in the first few days of trading after the IPO, climbing to over USD 60.00. 

There are various reasons for the setback. For example, Beyond Meat has seen a steady decline in sales in recent years, even though the American market for plant-based meat alternatives has remained stable, as the Financial Times reports. One reason for this may be that consumers who opt for meat substitutes do not necessarily want to copy the taste of meat, but are looking for a healthy alternative. However, Beyond Meat focuses mainly on red meat alternatives.

Competition positions itself

While Beyond Meat is facing headwinds, the competition is positioning itself and responding to the demand for healthy alternatives to meat. Nestlé has been positioning itself in the USA with its Garden Gourmet brand since 2019. In 2022, the Swiss food company reported global sales growth in the mid-single-digit percentage range with the sale of vegetarian and vegan products.

Consumer goods producer Unilever also offers plant-based meat and dairy alternatives with “Vegetarian Butcher”. According to the company, the brand is growing strongly, thanks in part to partnerships with fast food chains such as Dominos and Burger King. The US food company Kraft Heinz is also trying to gain a foothold with plant-based hot dogs, known as “NotHotDogs”.

But it's not just stock market heavyweights that are getting involved in the meat substitute business. One of Beyond Meats' fiercest competitors is Impossible Foods. The US company focuses on the innovative use of heme, a molecule that is found in plants and meat and is responsible for the typical meat taste. The molecule is obtained through the fermentation of genetically modified yeast. According to Reuters, Impossible Foods is considering various options as part of its growth strategy – including an IPO.

Barrier Reverse Convertible on consumer goods equities

9.00% BRC on Unilever, Nestlé, Kraft Heinz
Barrier: 70%
Valor: 1358049315

Indicative terms 

 

Disclaimer
This communication is for marketing purposes. It is neither an offer nor an invitation to submit an offer, to purchase or to subscribe to securities and does not constitute investment advice. You should consult your advisors before making an investment decision.
Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, financial condition, development or performance of the issuer to be materially different from any future results, financial condition, development or performance expressed or implied by such statements.
The present document has not been drawn up by the research department as defined in the rules of the “Directives on the Independence of Financial Research” published by the Swiss Bankers Association, hence these rules do not apply to this document.
If securities are mentioned in the communication, the base prospectus, the final terms and any key information document may be obtained free of charge from Zürcher Kantonalbank, Bahnhofstrasse 9, 8001 Zurich, VRIS, and from www.zkb.ch/finanzinformationen.