A groundswell of demand for more environmentally conscious food alternatives is a very real thing. Regardless of your personal opinion towards animal protein consumption (I enjoy steak, and I certainly enjoy fish), the change is no longer isolated to an obscure sub-culture of vegan purists.

 

On April 1st, Burger King released the impossible Whopper in limited locations in the US. Like A&W's "Beyond the Meat" burger, this is a plant based alternative that tastes like beef. I have heard that the sodium content is off the charts, but that is another story. The reality is, you cannot even buy one of these to try, even if you wanted to. They are sold out....everywhere. A further example of this phenomenon is the IPO of Beyond Meat who sees it's stock now holding at $60 when it was expected to be around $19-21.....

 

From an investment standpoint,  you might want to keep a short term eye on companies such as QSR, who may see some short term SSS growth as a result of this demand swell. Inevitably, other providers such as McD will catch up or catch on, and then we will see how sustainable this transition is. (see what I did there?)

 

Tickers:              QSR (Canada)     BYND (US)     MCD (US)