Plant-Based Meats are Thriving; A Look at Lightlife, Gardein, Nestle, Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods

The United States just finished celebrating July 4^th, a day traditionally commemorated by many fireworks and even more grilling. Americans all over the country fire up their grill and cook burgers, hot dogs, and steaks. But for a growing portion of the country, the food being cooked up is actually not meat at all, but a finely tuned plant supplement meant to taste and look just like the real thing.

Health experts have long explained that Americans should be eating a bit less red meat and a lot more vegetables. And as healthy food choices continue to become more fashionable in subsets of American society, vegan and vegetarian alternatives to traditional, beloved meat dishes have become a staple in many families’ diets. Companies now produce hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, and even steak that doesn’t contain even a small amount of meat—and the industry only continues to grow.

Early Industry Leaders

For Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, the explosive growth of this budding industry has been in the works for quite some time. Both companies have been producing vegan and vegetation products for years, but each organization turned their attention to creating more realistic alternatives to traditional meat products in recent years. Their investment has paid off in dividends—and experts project that the industry will only grow.

According to one expert, the next ten years will see an increase in plant-based meat patronage by around 1,000%! Americans are consuming these meat alternatives at surprising rates, and the research and development efforts of companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods will only be aided further by this massive boom in public interest, purchases, and exposure.

Beyond Meat recently went public as a company on the stock market, and their release of a new plant-based ground beef has certainly stirred up even more excitement for the explosively growing industry.