In 2018 alone, global sales of plant-based meat hit a staggering $19.5 billion. But that wasn't news to us.
We've had plenty of reasons to find profit potential in this industry, but a new report shows this industry is about to get a major new catalyst.
Money Morning Executive Editor Bill Patalon recommended one of the plant-based meat industry's leading stocks months before Wall Street ever picked up on it. And thanks to his advice, Bill's followers have already made a cool return of over 145%.
The Beyond Meat Inc. (NYSE: BYND) stock price has pummeled every Wall Street expectation in its path, currently standing 35% above the highest analyst target for the year. And it's not slowing down anytime soon.
In fact, one report suggests the market for plant-based meat products could balloon to nearly $28 billion - or a 44% growth in annual sales - over the next six years. Beyond Meat will take a big piece of that.
But it gets even better.
A recent report shows that we've been underestimating the potential of plant-based meat.
And this could be the biggest catalyst the industry will ever see...
Where Plant-Based Meat Is Going Next
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If you've kept your finger on the pulse of the farm-to-table movement over the last few years, you've probably heard quite a bit about plant-based meats.
Considered an environmentally safe alternative to traditional meat products, plant-based meats have been hailed as a potential game changer in the American diet thanks to their relative ease of production and similar taste to meat.
However, one thing has kept this meat alternative lagging behind its traditional counterpart: the price.
Since 2009, companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have tried to profit by keeping prices high.
Higher prices have been used to increase production and pay for the organic resources that go into plant-based meats.
This strategy has played out great for these companies. But it's put nearly a 100% premium on the cost of plant-based meat compared to its animal-based competition. This has kept many consumers away.
However, that could change very soon.
According to a recent report from the Good Food Institute, it appears as though both of these vegetarian juggernauts now have enough war chests to aggressively amp up their control over the production process.
This move could significantly drop the cost of production. And that would translate into a lower sticker price for consumers.
In fact, it could make plant-based meat cheaper than its animal-based counterpart.
That would be a revolutionary game changer for the entire industry as cost-conscious consumers embrace a cheaper and more sustainable alternative for the dinner table.
With that kind of growth potential on the horizon, it's little wonder investors like Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) and billionaire Bill Gates are rushing to get a seat at the table.
However, compared to Bill, they're a little late to the game.
As we mentioned earlier, Bill has been on this culinary revolution since day one. He's kept a close eye on this emerging industry's profit potential long before Wall Street finally perked up its ears.
That's why Bill recommended it in his Private Briefing newsletter long before the company even went public on May 1st.
This was a rare move for Bill, who typically avoids recommending IPO's to his readers. "My experience is that retail investors rarely get into the best ones at the offering price, meaning they end up chasing them in the aftermarket and thus overpay," he said. "But I'll break that rule when I find a company that has truly exceptional long-term growth prospects."
And Beyond Meat has proven it's definitely that kind of company.
Over a 52-week period, Beyond Meat's plant-based meat store sales grew 107%. In the same period, the company's closest competition, Tyson Foods, managed to lock in a gain in plant-based sale of only 1.8%.
That kind of runaway growth has made Beyond Meat one of Bill's favorite stocks in 2019 - and just one of his many winners.
And now there's an even more lucrative way for investors to get rich off of startup companies...
America's Favorite Angel Investor Shows How Easy It Is for Anyone to Invest in Ground-Floor Startups
You've probably seen stories about this person or that person making an absolute fortune from some unknown startup suddenly becoming a household name... like Uber, Airbnb, SpaceX, or Bird.
Now, it's your turn.
Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec is showing how easy it is for anyone to turn as little as $50 into what can be life-changing windfalls... all from investing in startups.