The Jewel of Food Tech

I don’t get into food tech that often but one company that I have been highly bullish on that keeps delivering month over month is plant-based meat provider Beyond Meat (BYND).

The deals just keep rolling in for Beyond Meat as it announced that it had expanded its distribution deal with Walmart (WMT).

The all-American supermarket will now carry Beyond Meat in 2,400 of its stores, up from 800 before, and is a decisive victory for Beyond Meat whose non-animal-based meat is quickly becoming ubiquitous all over the U.S.

Their footprint is really expanding at a rapid clip because Walmart is actually the biggest grocer in the U.S. by sales. Now, Beyond Meat products will be in about half of the retailer’s U.S. stores.

The plant-based burger company has had a breakout year and has rallied nearly 120% as we speak and I recommended buying this stock in the low 70s.

That stock has made a double from that recommendation.

The first-mover advantage combined with the health pandemic has worked wonders for this company that hopes to supplant animal-based meat as the staple food for decades to come.

Now we are grappling with problems that every publicly traded company hopes to have – high valuations.

The current valuation is perceived as high because the growth engine powering Beyond Meat is clicking on all cylinders.

For companies like Beyond Meat, expanded distribution can immediately boost revenue because the capacity to deliver meat increases in an instant.

Beyond Meat typically recognizes revenue when products are delivered to retail and food-service locations, not when they finally sell through to the end consumer, so they have incentives to get their product in as many places as possible.

Beyond’s expanded distribution deal with Walmart validates the growth story to outside investors and legitimates the road map that management has aggressively targeted.

Beyond Meat’s latest move to expand the distribution of Beyond Burger meshes well with the company’s efforts to make its products more accessible across grocery chains.

It's rumored that Walmart and Beyond have cultivated an extremely healthy working relationship setting the stage for more collaboration in the future and, of course, more products in the store window.

Beyond Meat’s frozen products were first launched at Walmart’s stores in 2015. Since then, the company has expanded its in-store offerings at Walmart to include Beyond Burger and Beyond Sausage in the in-person fresh meat section, while the Beyond Breakfast Sausage patties were recently added in the freezer aisle.

This is all while consumers haven’t absorbed the full scope of health benefits incurred by eating substitute meat products.

The pandemic has created a new generation of health-obsessed consumers and Beyond Meat is well placed to cater to such growing interests.

In fact, Beyond Meat has doubled down on being a leading provider of healthy plant-based meat alternatives whose products are made from simple ingredients.

The numbers speak for themselves as Beyond Burger contains 35% less saturated fat and has no added cholesterol, antibiotics, or hormones. It is also free of GMOs, soy, or gluten. Beyond Burger —  made out of peas, mung bean, and rice —  closely mirrors the taste of a traditional beef burger.

The stay-at-home food preparation revolution was catalyzed by the pandemic, relative deliveries to dining establishments have been killed off.

During the second quarter, strong retail channel sales volumes drove the company’s top line that surged 69% year on year.

The company’s efforts to expand and diversify retail channel offerings are likely to bear fruit. Last week, the company announced the expansion of its frozen Beyond Breakfast Sausage patties to more than 5,000 additional stores across the United States. The added distribution locations include grocery chains like Kroger KR, Harris Teeter, Target's TGT Super Target stores, Publix. Earlier this month, the company launched Beyond Meatballs across grocery stores. Markedly, Beyond Meatballs marks the company’s third new retail product introduced in 2020, following the launches of Beyond Breakfast Sausage and Cookout Classic.

The one potential headwind to keep note of that could dampen enthusiasm for Beyond is the growing competition right around the corner that has led to various analysts to downgrade the stock. 

JPMorgan was one of them citing market share loss at grocery stores to its biggest competitor, Impossible Foods Inc.

Analysts also cited waning volume at restaurants, which are slower to add “complexity” to the menu during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other brands getting in on the fun are Morningstar brand, expanding its Incogmeato line of plant-based proteins with help from Walt Disney Co. (DIS), with the launch of Mickey Mouse shaped Chick’n Nuggets.

The item is meant to appeal to families and could create a market of lifelong plant-based meat eaters.

Dr. Praeger’s launched beef and chicken plant-based sliders this week.

Meatless Farm, a British-based food company, has landed in the U.S. And another global plant-based food company, Chile-based NotCo, is planning to bring its products to the U.S. after recently closing an $85 million round of funding.

Beyond is still a true growth stock and putting money in the early innings will harvest alpha.

Keeping tabs on the competition is something that any trader can’t ignore, and even though the moat isn’t that wide, if Beyond keeps operating at a high level, shares should be bought and held.