<p><img src="https://static2.businessinsider.com/image/60079731e3d62500185fd428-2007/milk%20tasting-9.jpg" border="0" alt="Milk Tasting Oatly" data-mce-source="Hollis Johnson/INSIDER"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/petco-ceo-ron-coughlin-says-this-ipo-is-different-2021-1">Petco</a> and <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/poshmark-stock-price-surges-post-ipo-first-day-of-trading-2021-1-1029970256">Poshmark</a> have already gone public in 2021. A basket of food brands could be next.</p><p>Oatly is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/05/oatly-vegan-food-brand-backed-by-oprah-is-planning-to-ipo-this-year-sources-say.html'utm_content=Main&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR13oljs8Ybs63rgR-CM8B_khjY2oc-G-XQnrcGbmjp0pIfKXdf0TeYJen0#Echobox=1609886322">reportedly</a> planning for an IPO this year, CNBC reported Jan. 5, citing sources familiar with the company's plans. The Swedish oat milk brand has investors ranging from Oprah Winfrey to Blackstone. It's raised $328 million in funding so far, according to Pitchbook.</p><p>But other food brands are also at or near the end of the typical private financing road. As they look for new money to invest in the business and give investors a chance to cash out, an IPO might be an appealing option.</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong><strong>:</strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whisky-tequilla-sales-to-outshine-cheaper-booze-after-pandemic-2021-1">Pricey whiskies and cognacs are outselling cheaper booze during the pandemic. Here's why distillers and analysts predict the category will only continue to grow.</a></em></p><p>"If they need capital to invest in these things, then those are good reasons to go IPO," said Suresh Chaganti, Co-Founder and COO VectorScient, which provides software to retailers and distributors. "But if they can afford the private investment, then they can avoid the distraction of an IPO."</p><p><strong>Insider asked food industry experts which food companies other than Oatly are most likely to tap the public markets in the next year or so. Here are the 8 companies they pointed to:</strong></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/poshmark-salaries-how-much-engineers-analysts-product-managers-make-2020-12" >Poshmark is going public just as the resale market booms. Here's how much the company pays data analysts, engineers, product managers, and more</a></strong></p><h3>Impossible Foods</h3><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/6006de9b660f6c0018349b68-400-300/impossible-foods.jpg" alt="" /><p><p>Beyond Meat will mark two years as a public company this May, but the other main player in plant-based meat is still private. </p><p>Multiple experts Insider spoke with put Impossible at or near the top of their food companies to watch for an IPO. CEO and Founder Pat Brown <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/impossible-foodss-ceo-on-why-its-doubling-its-rd-team-2020-10">told</a> Insider in October that Impossible didn't have immediate plans to go public, though he acknowledged that the company was likely to go through with an IPO sooner or later.</p><p>The plant-based meat maker's motivations for listing include funding more research and development to take it into new products areas, said Jake Matthews, senior intelligence analyst at CB Insights. </p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/impossible-foods-salaries-revealed-see-how-much-its-employees-make-2020-12">Impossible Foods salaries revealed: Here's how much the plant-based company pays fermentation engineers, food scientists, and more </a></em></p><p>Impossible also big ambitions to expand internationally. Last fall, it launched its plant-based burgers at supermarkets in Hong Kong and Singapore while hinting that mainland China was on its list next.</p><p>"Scaling successfully in a market like China is going to require Impossible Foods to navigate a pretty complex regulatory and cultural environment," Matthews said. That will "require resources and a fresh round of capital through an IPO and accessing the public markets."</p></p><br/><br/><h3>Chobani</h3><img src="https://static6.businessinsider.com/image/6006e299e3d62500185fd144-400-300/chobani.jpg" alt="" /><p><p>Chobani CEO and Founder Hamdi Ulukaya has come out strongly against selling his company to a larger player in the food space. In 2018, he <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/9/18/17874364/chobani-ceo-hamdi-ulukaya-public-ipo">told</a> Recode's Kara Swisher: "I've said 'no' from day one."</p><p>But Ulukaya has been more open to taking the company public. In the same interview, he told Swisher: "If that's going to give me tools to be able to [expand], I definitely would."</p><p>If Chobani does go public, the yogurt maker would benefit from the name he built since its founding in 2005, Chaganti said.</p><p>"They have pretty good brand recognition," are broadly available in stores, and have capitalized on demand for healthier foods, he said.</p></p><br/><br/><h3>Eat Just</h3><img src="https://static5.businessinsider.com/image/6006e2b7660f6c0018349b6e-400-300/eat-just.jpg" alt="" /><p><p>Eat Just's business has shifted since its founding in 2011.</p><p>Initially, the company developed a range of food products from baking mixes to salad dressings, all of which were plant-based. But after having its products pulled from some retailers' shelves and facing allegations that it inflated sales figures, Eat Just decided to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-just-plans-to-reach-profitability-with-plant-based-eggs-2020-9">focus instead</a> on a mung bean-based egg substitute and getting the world's first approval for lab-grown meat in Singapore.</p><p>Just Egg commands only a small amount in sales at the moment, said Michael La Kier, principal at consultancy What Brands Want LLC, who formerly held multiple roles at Coca-Cola. But it could prove to be a lucrative investment for those who buy in the long-term. Sales of plant-based foods grew 11% to $5 billion in 2019, according to the Good Food Institute. </p><p>"Depending on your investment horizon, you could see this as a nice niche you could grow into a market segment," La Kier said of Eat Just's plant-based eggs. </p><p> </p></p><br/><br/><h3>Real Good Foods</h3><p><biembeddedobject id="45fea04a-4321-4218-8774-79c3ed3072ef" class="instagram mceNonEditable" style="width: 540px; height: autopx;">Instagram Embed: <br />//instagram.com/p/CKHmZMPp7DV/embed <br />Width: 540px</biembeddedobject><p>Real Good Foods makes frozen breakfast sandwiches, pizzas, and bowls. Its goal, La Kier said, is to offer healthier versions of what's already in the freezer section at grocers.</p><p>"They can give you a better breakfast" than Jimmy Dean, he said. The company's focus on healthier forms of protein could make it attractive to investors, La Kier added.</p><p>In October, Real Good named Gerard Law, formerly a vice president at Icee maker J&J Snack Foods, as its CEO. </p></p><br/><br/><h3>Califia Farms</h3><img src="https://static2.businessinsider.com/image/60075bff660f6c0018349dbb-400-300/califia-farms.jpg" alt="" /><p><p>Oatly focuses on a single grain for its plant-based alternatives. "Califia Farms, on the other hand, isn't necessarily as deeply rooted in a specific product category," CB Insight's Matthews said. </p><p>The Los Angeles-based brand uses almond milk as well as oat milk for its creamers, butter, and other alternatives to animal-based products. Its latest funding round, a Series D closed in January 2020, raised $225 million.</p><p>Califia could raise even more in an IPO given investors' interest in companies that make the food supply chain more ethical and eco-friendly, Matthews said. Vital Farms is one example: The maker of pasture-raised eggs and butter went public last summer.</p><p>"There's just a ton of investor appetite across food categories that lean into more ethical and sustainable agricultural practices," he said.</p></p><br/><br/><h3>King Juice Company</h3><p><biembeddedobject id="69360482-52ae-4e9a-ad61-233f396a2e98" class="instagram mceNonEditable" style="width: 540px; height: autopx;">Instagram Embed: <br />//instagram.com/p/CJ_jPh-lgku/embed <br />Width: 540px</biembeddedobject><p>The maker of Calypso lemonade was acquired by private equity firm Mason Wells in 2017. Flavored lemonades have been key to the Milwaukee-based brand's success, with its growth challenging more established players.</p><p>"They just passed Lipton as the number two shelf lemonade," La Kier said, adding that the company could be one to watch for an IPO or an acquisition. </p><p>Sales grew 40% at the brand during the first half of 2020, according to a statement from the company.</p></p><br/><br/><h3>Apeel Sciences</h3><p><biembeddedobject id="e57ff202-2e54-467f-9b9c-314d8449aa71" class="instagram mceNonEditable" style="width: 540px; height: autopx;">Instagram Embed: <br />//instagram.com/p/CI8fBr-n9OU/embed <br />Width: 540px</biembeddedobject><p> </p><p>California-based Apeel Sciences makes coatings that it says can triple the shelf life of fresh produce. The company has completed several funding rounds and has raised $415 million, according to Pitchbook.</p><p>Apeel pitches its technology as a method of reducing food waste, a goal that companies like FoodMaven and Imperfect Foods have also used to win investments, albeit with different approaches. </p><p>Apeel's approach could be attractive to investors for that potential to cut waste and recover lost revenue. "A science-based offering like that that could extend the shelf life of fresh produce will contribute greatly to combating the food waste crisis," Matthews said of Apeel.</p></p><br/><br/><h3>Halsa Foods</h3><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/6006e839e3d62500185fd14f-400-300/halsa-foods.jpg" alt="" /><p><p>Like Oatly, California-based Halsa Foods is also betting on oat-based alternatives to dairy. Instead of milk, though, the company's focus is on oat-based yogurt. La Kier said the brand offers potential investors another variant on the plant-based dairy category. </p><p>Founded in 2015, the company works with US dairy farmers to grow oats which can then be processed into its yogurt. Halsa is US-based, though its founders play up their Swedish roots and approach to making their products.</p><p>Halsa doesn't disclose sales as a private company, though its distribution includes Fairway in New York City and delivery service Fresh Direct.</p><p>Among its board members are Gary Hirshberg, the co-founder, and CEO of yogurt brand Stonyfield Organic, which itself was an upstart yogurt brand before being acquired by French food company Groupe Lactalis. </p><p> </p></p><br/><br/>
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