The news has not been good for some time for meat substitute Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND). It’s become increasingly clear that people want the real thing and that plant-based substitutes just aren’t getting anywhere. But Beyond Meat hasn’t given up, and a new recipe may make the difference. Investors are cautiously optimistic, however, and sent shares up nearly 2% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
Beyond Meat went back to the drawing board and came back with a new recipe to encourage customers to pick up its fake meat. The latest version doubles down on healthy eating, incorporating avocado oil to reduce saturated fats by a hefty 60%. Sodium is also down around 20%, and the recipe now includes ingredients such as red lentils and fava beans.
But Will It Be Enough?
The tolerance for fake meat has gone down substantially over the last few years. In general, the entire alternative meats category is down better than a third of what it was this time last year, and it’s hard to see where a few minor changes to the menu will really engender that much more interest. The change absolutely will allow Beyond Meat to refine its marketing to better go after the health food segment, but it remains to be seen if that market will yield sufficient cash flow to keep Beyond Meat in the black.
Is Beyond Meat a Hold or Sell?
A look at the last five days in trading for BYND stock shows that shares are up 3.84%. That suggests recent news has met with investor approval, even if that approval has been a bit rocky and conditional over the five-day run. The overall pattern is very much a sawtooth pattern, suggesting somewhat high volatility, but its low share price ensures that even the smallest fluctuation will look bigger than it is.
