Investing in Vegan Stocks

As a lifestyle and diet, veganism has been around for millennia, but plant-based eating has only recently become big business. Companies such as Beyond Meat (BYND -5.25%) and Oatly (OTLY +1.32%) command multibillion-dollar valuations. Packaged food titans such as Tyson Foods (TSN -0.60%) have launched their own vegan brands, and startups such as Impossible Foods are racing to go public. Vegan stocks are companies that make money from animal-free products, typically food, or without harming animals.

• According to data from Allied Market Research, the global vegan food market is expected to grow by a compound annual rate of 6.4% through 2030.
• UBS expects plant-based protein to grow by 16% annually.
• Several factors are boosting the performance of plant-based stocks, including healthy eating trends, environmental concerns, economies of scale, and technological innovations.

Beyond Meat (BYND -5.25%) is a leader in the plant-based meat substitute industry. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, its revenue was growing at triple-digit rates, although growth has slowed dramatically since then and has declined in recent quarters. The company's products have become ubiquitous at supermarkets and common on restaurant menus. As of December 2024, Beyond Meat reported its products were available at approximately 129,000 retail and food service locations in more than 90 countries.

Beyond Meat continues to innovate and introduce new products in the vegan meat substitute category, including its fourth generation of the Beyond Burger, Beyond Beef, and Beyond Sun Sausage. Beyond Meat has historically spent heavily -- around 10% of its revenue -- on research and development (R&D), which should enable the company to hold its leadership position over time. It excels at developing new products, advancing its technology, and making quality improvements.

However, trends in plant-based meat consumption have been challenging lately, and the company has reported several quarters of revenue declines. It continues to be unprofitable as well.

2. Oatly

Oatly (OTLY +1.32%) made a splash with its initial public offering (IPO) in May 2021. The Swedish oat milk brand has shaken up the plant-based milk category, and oat milk has passed soy milk to become the second-best-selling alternative after almond milk.

While Oatly has captured attention with a bold marketing campaign and a new product category in the U.S., the company has been around since the 1990s and has been consistently developing oat-based alternative dairy products, including milk, ice cream, yogurt, cooking creams, spreads, and to-go drinks.

Oatly's products are now available in more than 65,000 stores and more than 60,000 coffee shops. Its revenue rose 5.1% to $823.7 million in 2024 compared to the previous year, although Oatly is currently unprofitable because it is spending aggressively on marketing. Its growth has also slowed significantly since its IPO, and as of the end of 2024, the company was pursuing an "asset-light" strategy, shuttering facilities to improve its cost structure, utilization, and efficiency.

Through the first three quarters of 2025, its revenue was up 3.4%, though it has narrowed its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) loss.

3. Calavo Growers

Avocados are a staple of the vegan diet in much of the world, and they are popular with the millennial and Gen Z generations. About half of Calavo Growers’ (CVGW +1.17%) revenue comes from avocados, and growth in the category helped the company's stock price triple between 2011 and 2020. Shares have pulled back since then amid volatility in avocado prices and falling profits as the company pursued growth in lower-margin products. Investors are hopeful that the return of former CEO Lee Cole will restore the company's earlier success.

As a commodities producer, Calavo faces stiff competition. Prices for commodities such as avocados are constantly changing. But since it takes as long as 13 years to grow an avocado tree and demand for the fruit is rising, the company should be well positioned for long-term growth. By the first quarter of 2025, prices were rising again, driving revenue growth and profits. Through the first three quarters of 2025, revenue rose 6.5% to $523.8 million, and its operating income more than doubled to $21.5 million.

Laird Superfood (LSF +17.61%), a vegan food company founded by athletes Laird Hamilton and Gabby Reece, has risen from the dead. At one point, the company looked like it was headed for bankruptcy, but the stock soared through 2024 as its decision to shut down its manufacturing plant and move to a co-packing model has paid off, improving its cost structure.

The company has since returned to growth and is posting strong results in e-commerce, which makes up a majority of its sales. Better in-stock rates led to sales on Amazon (AMZN +0.40%) more than doubling in the third quarter of 2024. Other business improvements, like direct procurement of raw materials, have helped the business approach a break-even point. Its momentum continued into 2025 with revenue up almost 15% through the first three quarters of the year.

Laird Superfood is best known for its plant-based coffee creamers, based on coconut milk powder, healthy fats, and organic coconut sugar, but the company also sells beverages, snacks, and supplements like Performance Mushrooms. Still, almost 60% of its sales come from coffee creamers.

If Laird can maintain its recent momentum and achieve profitability, the stock should continue to climb.

5. Local Bounti

Local Bounti (LOCL -2.65%) is one of several “ag tech” companies that have gone public in recent years, using new technologies in the age-old agriculture industry.

Founded in 2018, Local Bounti grows lettuce and herbs and uses a patented technology it calls “Stack and Flow,” which it describes as a combination of vertical farming and hydroponic greenhouse farming. Its techniques are more environmentally sustainable than traditional agriculture, using 90% less water and 90% less land while increasing harvest efficiency, and it focuses largely on lettuce and other leafy greens.

Local Bounti has made relatively little revenue so far, and management will be well short of its earlier target of $462 million in revenue by 2025, but the company is growing. Through the first three quarters of 2025, revenue rose 28% to $35.9 million as it increased production at several facilities. It expects to achieve positive adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter of 2025. The company has partnered with retailers, including Walmart (NYSE:WMT)-owned Sam's Club and Brookshire Grocery.

Local Bounti is a high-risk stock, but after the bankruptcy of AppHarvest, it looks like the best bet in indoor agriculture, an emerging industry with advantages over traditional agriculture.

6. Mission Produce

Another avocado seller to make the list, Mission Produce (AVO +1.22%), went public in 2020 and calls itself the world’s most advanced avocado network. It buys avocados from around the world, including California, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, and New Zealand, and owns more than 10,000 acres globally. The company also sells mangoes.

Like other industries, the avocado industry has been challenged at times by supply chain issues and labor shortages, though avocado prices soared through 2024.

That drove revenue up 13% to $1.39 billion through the first half of 2025, though gross profit was only up 5%, a challenge of its sourcing and distribution model. While demand for avocados should remain strong, investors should be aware that prices are volatile, so Mission's results will be sensitive to underlying commodity prices.

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