The value of plant-based burger maker Beyond Meat more than doubled on an incredible first day on the stock market.

The California-based company’s shares started off at $25 each, and soared throughout the day finishing at $68.75 – valuing the company at nearly $3.8bn.

The surge was the biggest increase in valuation for any company on its debut listing since 2008.

The interest in meat alternatives has accelerated dramatically in recent years, and Beyond Meat is at the forefront of the plant-based revolution.

Expansion

The company has aggressive plans to expand outside of the US, and will use the money to compete with the meat industry and other vegan meat companies around the world.

Beyond Meat celebrated its launch on Instagram, claiming to be the first meat alternative brand to go public.

Speaking at the stock market launch yesterday, founder Ethan Brown said the company had identified an ‘enormous opportunity for economic growth in rural America and throughout the world’.

US sales of plant-based meats have risen 42 percent since March 2016, while in the UK sales increased by 18 percent in the past year as traditional meat sales fell by 2 percent.

Plant protein

Beyond Meat burgers are created primarily using protein from peas, fava beans and soy to mimic the taste and texture of meat.

“We understand the composition of meat, we understand the architecture and year after year we collapse the gaps between our product and animal protein,” Brown explained.

The company’s main product is the Beyond Meat Burger patty, but it also recently introduced a vegan ground beef alternative and has a plant-based sausage range.

The company’s investors investors include Leonardo DiCaprio and Bill Gates

One of Beyond Meat’s main competitors, Impossible Foods, has partnered with Burger King to launch a plant-based ‘Impossible Whopper’, which is set to be rolled out across the US.

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