Over the past few years, there has been a boom in the vegan, vegetarian, and plant-based industries. There are now more people than ever claiming to be vegan or some sort of flexitarian or vegetarian. Though it goes without saying, the vegan movement is on the rise– and fast.
This year alone has been filled with many great triumphs for the vegan industry. For example, Beyond Meat just released its IPO a few weeks back, making it the first plant-based company to become publicly traded. The IPO performed well– so well in fact, that it was the best performing IPO in several decades. Beyond Meat also saw success in their recent partnership with Del Taco for their selection of Beyond Tacos, which quickly became the fast food chain’s best menu update in its history. Plus, a large protein food provider for grade schools has developed a plant-based chicken nugget that is now available for all school systems nationwide to adopt.
That’s not all: Impossible Foods has had a very busy year as well. A few months ago, Burger King partnered with the plant-based company to create the Impossible Whopper, a burger that is vegan-friendly. It will be available nationwide by the end of this year. Impossible Foods has also partnered with Little Caesars for the Impossible Sausage menu item, which will be available in the weeks to come.
And now, Big Food is joining in on the plant-based movement. While veganism is still in its infancy, larger companies are facing stiff competition as many startup companies are quickly claiming their share of the pie.
Many established companies are now turning their attention toward vegan demands. Tyson Foods, the large company known for selling chicken and other meat products, is now committing to developing a plant-based line of meat alternatives. Nestle has also joined the hype by acquiring plant-based companies to diversify its offerings. Even the condiment giant Kraft-Heinz is developing plant-based versions of its current lineup of popular condiments.
As we move forward, we can only expect competition to increase as the vegan industry continues to rise.
