The steep decline in the performance of the munKNEE Pure-Play Plant-Based Food Stocks Index reversed slightly last week (+2.9%) but is still down -3.5% to date in November after having declined -5.3% in October, -5% in September, -16% in August and -7% in July but remains DOWN -46% YTD.

Image by Sean Hayes from Pixabay

Here are the details:

About Plant-Based Foods

Chris Thompson, President & Director of Research of eResearch Corporation, reports that grocery sales of plant-based foods that directly replace animal products have grown 27% in the past year to $7 billion with 98% of those Americans who are buying plant-based meat also purchasing conventional meat. The total plant-based food market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.9% going forward and reach $74.2 billion by 2027.

Only one of the 5 constituents in the non-tradable munKNEE Pure-Play Plant-Based Food Stocks Index, consisting of 5 fledgling fake meat, dairy, egg, and seafood stocks with market capitalizations between $100M and $1B, was DOWN last week while one had No Change in price. The details for last week are as follows, in descending order, with the month-to-date (MTD) performance in brackets:

1. Else Nutrition (BABYF); UP +12.0%; (+6.4% MTD) 
   •  announced that it has received conditional approval to list its common shares and warrants on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
   • Amazon EU has invited Else to launch a European unified account that will allow Else to sell its unique products on all of Amazon European marketplaces including the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherland, and Sweden representing a market with over 300M people.
2. Tattooed Chef (TTCF): UP +7.4%; (-2.6% MTD)
3. Guru Organic (CSE: GURU; GUROF): UP +3.5%; (+5.3% MTD)
4. The Very Good Food Company (VRYYF): No Change; (N/C MTD)
5. Laird Superfood (LSF): DOWN -17.8%; (-12.2% MTD)
   • macroaxis.com reported that LSF has a 58% chance of experiencing financial distress in the next 2 years of operation. 

The average market capitalization of the above 5 stocks is approximately $300M with an average stock price of US$10.11/share.

Please note that:

• Plant & Company Brands (VGANF), Eat Beyond Global (EATBF), Plant Fuel Life (CSE: FUEL),  Modern Plant Based Foods (MDRNF), Nepra Foods (CSE: NPRA) and Tofutti Brands (TOFB), with market capitalizations of less than $100M each, and Beyond Meat (BYND), with a whopping $4.9B market capitalization and price of $77/share, are all excluded from the Index as their inclusion would mask the performance of the other plant-based food stocks in the sector. (The above mentioned currency amount is in U.S. dollars. Go here to convert to another currency),

Action Going Forward

The on-going decline of the plant-based food stocks category may be seen as an opportunity to buy into the category while its components are "on sale". To that end, you are encouraged to click on the trading symbols of those stocks that are of interest and review their latest financial statements and commentary as found in the TalkMarkets data they have made available and check out the company web sites as provided. Another good source of breaking news on plant-based products is vegconomist.com.

The 5 pure-play stocks in the munKNEE Pure-Play Plant-Based Food Stocks Index are just that, pure, and focused almost exclusively on the research, development, sales, distribution, and marketing of vegan food products and, as such, the Index reflects the true health of the plant-based food sector in the U.S. and Canada.