Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods to Become the Coca-Cola and Pepsi of the Modern Era, Analyst Predicts 

Plant-based brands Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods could be the next Coca-Cola and Pepsi, according to a brief published this week by Barron’s—a publication launched in 1921 and managed by Dow Jones. The article, written by 17-year Wall Street veteran Al Root, pointed to key factors that are paving the road toward both companies becoming the most valuable brands in the emerging plant-based meat industry. On May 2, Beyond Meat raised more than $241 million through its initial public offering—the most successful IPO of the year which saw share prices spike up to 163 percent during the day. This week, Impossible Foods announced that it closed a $300 million Series E investment round backed by the likes of Serena Williams, Jay-Z, Trevor Noah, Katy Perry, and a handful of other celebrities. Root advised that while the two companies are in a competing space, similar to Coca-Cola and Pepsi, investors could stand to profit from both as the plant-based industry continues to grow. “So who could be the Dr Pepper to Beyond Meat’s and Impossible Foods’ Coke and Pepsi?” Root asked before hinting that cell-based startup Aleph Farms—which announced a $12 million funding round this week that included meat-giant Cargill—could fill that role.