For a while it seemed like every day there was a new story about the plant-based food craze. From Beyond Meat to Impossible Foods to Maple Leaf Foods to Quom Foods … the number of “overnight” success stories was plentiful.

Even fast-food restaurants, who have never known for their healthy eating options, began adding plant-based foods to the menu.

But now the number of plant-based stories hitting the business pages has dwindled and those plant-based options at fast-food restaurants are disappearing.

So has the plant-based food market peaked?

In a recent article on this subject, Fortune magazine reported that industry leaders like Beyond Meat are attributing the market decline to the pandemic and to an overall decreasing interest in healthy eating.

The market, itself, is sending conflicting information. In a recent Financial Times survey, 39% of the respondents expressed an interest in reducing the amount of meat that they eat but 40% of those very respondents said they were not interested in eating plant-based meat.

So what exactly is going on?

Many industry experts believe that the issue is that current plant-based food products are simply not meeting customer expectations.

Maybe it’s taste … maybe it is smell … maybe it is texture when chewing … whatever the issue or issues, customers are finding the plant-based products on the market today lacking in quality.

But that also means that there is a unique opportunity for companies to step into the marketplace with higher quality, better tasting products and gain market share quickly. Also, companies that can connect better products with the general public also stand to benefit.

If investors are able to identify these companies and invest in them now, when the market is down approximately 15%, according to Fortune, they could see some nice future gains.

Here are three companies to keep an eye on in the new plant-based food market.

3 plant-based food companies to watch:

• Farmmi (NASDAQ:FAMI) – This e-commerce and technology company is building a global trading platform for agricultural products. Its stock price on April 28 was 0.11 (USD) and its market cap was 68.04M (USD).

• Eat & Beyond Global Holdings Inc. (OTCMKTS: EATBF) – This company invests in plant based protein makers who are developing innovative food tech and alternative food products. On April 28, it had a stock price of 0.28 (USD) and a market cap of 6.51M (CAD).

• Modern Plant Based Foods Inc. (CNSX: MEAT) – This vegan company offers a portfolio of plant-based meat products. On April 28, its stock price was 0.48 (CAD) and its market cap was 22.34M (USD).

 

Photo by Jake Gard on Unsplash