Alternative meat industry headed toward a $40B market by 2030, analyst says

Plant-based meat isn’t going away anytime soon, according to analysts.

In fact, a new research note from Bernstein predicts the alternative meat category is headed down a similar path to plant-based beverages like almond milk, potentially growing to a $40.5 billion market by 2030.

"If the alternative meat category develops along a similar path to plant-based beverages (from 5% - 15% of the market around a decade after the almond milk innovation turbocharged the category), then the total addressable market could be ~$40.5 billion in the U.S. within a decade," Alexia Howard wrote in a note to investors.

Bernstein said that if Beyond Meat, which debuted last week in one of the strongest initial public offerings since 2000, can keep the momentum going with its planted-based burgers, it foresees sales could climb to $2 billion by 2028, compared to its $207 million this year.

Last Thursday, Beyond Meat’s stock surged 163 percent on its first day of trading -- blowing by an estimated share price of $25.

As of Tuesday, its shares continued to rise up more than 12 percent, hovering around $84 dollars a share.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
BYND BEYOND MEAT INC. 4.96 -0.02 -0.40%
TSN TYSON FOODS INC. 64.34 -0.16 -0.25%

Beyond Meat, however, isn’t the only one creating momentum in the space.

As reported by FOX Business, in 2016 meat giant Tyson Foods took a 5 percent stake in Beyond Meat before selling it ahead of the company’s market debut to pursue its own launch of meatless products.

On Tuesday, Tyson announced that it plans to roll out its own plant-based meat substitutes beginning this summer.

Its former CEO, Tom Hayes, also told FOX Business in 2017 that he sees plant-based protein being a big part of the company’s future.

In April, food giant Nestle also announced plans to launch its own plant-based Incredible Burger this spring.

A slew of retailers and fast-food chains are also jumping into the category by offering plant-based alternatives, including Burger King, White Castle and TGI Friday’s.

Also, other alternative meat startups such as Impossible Foods and Memphis Meats are also growing at rapid rates.

However, according to research firm MarketsandMarkets, the global market for meat substitutes is only expected to grow steadily from an estimated $4.6 billion in 2018 to $6.4 billion by 2023.