The Possible Impacts of Financial Nudging in the Food Infant Industries: Beyond Meat Case Study

Abstract

The second decade of the XXI century has experienced the development of meat substitutes. The origin of this niche is said to emerge from environmental concerns. One of the market leaders in this infant industry is Beyond Meat company. The study aims to identify the impact of the capital markets and media coverage for an infant industry, such as meat alternatives, on the example of Beyond Meat. A sizeable portion of the investment in this new branch of the food sector came from the capital markets, which expect a return on their investment. The Beyond Meat case suggests that these substantial investments did not bring expected returns, which several factors, such as the post-COVID bear market and lack of demand for meat substitute products, could have caused. Thus, despite awareness campaigns, so far, the company has experienced losses. The development of this market niche acted contrary to what was expected. The market failings correlate with the loss of interest of the retail investors, which was attempted to be measured by this research. As a proxy for the retail investor interest, Google Trends Index was used and compared to the stock prices (a method often described as a Buzz Indicator).