Shares of Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) rose on news that Impossible Foods is no longer trying to win a coveted deal to supply McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE:MCD) with plant-based burgers.
The reversal by Impossible Foods marks a new twist in the battle among imitation-meat makers, which hope to convince more restaurants to offer their patties. It’s unclear how far along the talks between Impossible Foods and McDonald’s were or why they fell apart.
Impossible Foods and its rivals, including Beyond Meat, are fighting over coveted partnerships with fast-food chains to cash in on the roughly $3,500 per person average that Americans spend each year on fast food.
Silicon Valley-based Impossible Foods teamed up with Burger King last year to launch a soy-based “Impossible Whopper” in the U.S. Impossible Foods said it is now working to more than double production of the Whopper instead of trying to score a deal with McDonald’s.
Last September, McDonald’s launched a 12-week test of a P.L.T. burger in Canada, using patties made by Beyond Meat. But McDonald’s has yet to offer a plant-based burger as a regular feature on its menu at any of its 14,000 U.S. outlets.
Beyond Meat had its initial public offering (IPO) in May 2019 and is currently valued at $5 billion. Beyond Meat’s stock price rose more than 12% on the news that Impossible Foods is no longer pursuing a deal with McDonald’s.