Ethan Brown, CEO of Beyond Meat, on an Explosive IPO



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The initial public offering of Beyond Meat was simply explosive.

The company's shares of meat substitutes shot up after its debut Thursday, recording a 163% increase and the company's valuation to more than $ 3 billion.

Read more: Beyond Meat rockets increased 84% when they first started trading

But in an interview with Business Insider on Thursday afternoon, co-founder and CEO Ethan Brown said that he was more focused on the long run.

"More than worry about the competition, I worry about how we are improving the products we currently have on shelves by enhancing them," Brown said.

Ethan Brown, CEO of Beyond Meat.
Courtesy of Beyond the Meat

Brown's ultimate goal and Beyond Meat's "True North" are the perfect replication of meat. He said the company is 70% there. Items such as sausages and hamburgers – like the popular Beyond Burger – are easier to prepare than products such as steak and bacon, he said.

But beyond the meat is ready to try to conquer meat lovers of all races.

Beyond Meat was founded in 2009 by Brown, who incorporated early social messages into the brand. Beyond meat is based on the idea that ethical consumption is marketable – its prospectus summary mentions "human health, climate change, resource conservation and animal welfare" before the end of the year. first paragraph.

At the same time, Brown said that "Beyond the meat deliberately avoids all condemnation of carnivores.

The company emphasizes that she has an audience outside the vegetarian and vegan crowd. Ninety-three percent of people who bought Beyond Burgers at Kroger in the first half of 2018 also purchased animal products during the same period, according to the grocery chain.

Beyond Meat's products are sold in major grocery chains, including Kroger, Target and Whole Foods. Channels such as Bareburger and TGI Fridays have Beyond Burger on the menu, and Del Taco serves Beyond Tacos.

Del Taco is beyond the tacos.
Beyond the meat

Brown said that Beyond Meat is pro-carnivore in part simply because it means more potential customers. While the plant-based food sector generates sales estimated at $ 13 billion a year in the entire US economy, Brown said meat represents an activity of 1.4 trillion dollars, more than 100 times more.

"While protein was really important in our evolution and made great things for us from an evolutionary perspective, it also gave us a pretty big brain with which we can work to find out how to innovate in this fundamental area," he said. said Brown.

The moral code of Beyond Meat also has financial advantages. Brown says that Generation Z and millennials are increasingly motivated by their values ​​when shopping, which makes them more likely to choose a product beyond meat than a less meat option respectful of the environment.

"It costs a lot of money to buy a Tesla," Brown said. "It takes $ 6 to buy the Beyond Burger and make a statement about what you believe in."

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