The plant-based boom is just starting to sprout. In fact, with millions of people turning to plant based diets, analysts at Credit Suisse say the industry could grow 100-fold to $1.4 trillion by 2050, as noted by VegNews’ contributor Anna Starostinetskaya.

Shorter-term, Bloomberg Intelligence says the plant-based industry could balloon to $162 billion by 2030 from $29.4 billion in 2020. Even more impressive, according to Recipe Guru, investors can now find plant based foods in 53% of U.S. households. They added that about 35% of Americans have tried plant based food, they added.

Even Unilever’s Chief Executive Alan Jope said, “We are seeing in every single country in the world a shift towards more plant-based diets, even in emerging markets,” as quoted by VegNews’ contributor Starostinetskaya.

Better, major food companies, like Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN), Smithfield Foods Inc., Perdue, Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE:HRL), and Nestle (OTC:NSRGY) are offering plant based alternatives.

Kentucky Fried Chicken just added a meatless chicken option across the U.S. with Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND). McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) said it’s rolling out a test of Beyond Meat’s plant based burgers in 600 stores in Texas. Chipotle (NYSE:CMG) just added a plant based chorizo to its menu.

With the plant based boom here to stay, investors may want to keep an eye on:

• Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND)
• Tattooed Chef Inc. (NASDAQ:TTCF)
• VegTech Plant-Based Innovation & Climate ETF (NYSE:EATV)

Plant Based Food: Beyond Meat (BYND)

At the moment, Beyond Meat doesn’t have the most attractive chart.

In fact, after hitting a 2021 high of $221, shares of BYND dropped to about $59.10. For one, earnings haven’t been so hot.  In November, the company posted a net loss of $54.8 million, or 87 cents a share, as compared to a year-earlier loss of $19.3 million, or 31 cents. However, revenue did improve by about 13% to $106.4 million from $94.4 million year over year.

Beyond Meat slid even more as JP Morgan analyst Ken Goldman cut his price target on the stock to $54 from $79 after a wider than expected quarterly loss.

Despite the negatives, don’t write the BYND stock off just yet. McDonald’s just said it would roll out a test of its burgers in about 600 stores in Texas. Beyond Meat is even releasing vegan beef jerky with PepsiCo.  Even better, it’s releasing its chicken alternative with Kentucky Fried Chicken, and a “Beyond Italian Sausage Crumbles” with Pizza Hut.

With time and a good deal of patience, I’d like to see the BYND stock at $75, near-term.

Tattooed Chef (TTCF)

Tattooed Chef is another plant based food stock to keep an eye on.

After pulling back to lows it hasn’t seen since May 2020, the stock appears to have caught solid support around $11 a share.  From here, I’d like to see it closer to $15, near-term, as the plant based story begins to strengthen.

While third-quarter earnings weren’t hot, there were some signs of improvement. For example, while it posted a diluted earnings per share (EPS) loss of 10 cents, as compared to expectations for a five-cent loss, it was still better than the year-earlier loss of 11 cents. In addition, while revenue came in at $58.78 million, as compared to expectations for $60.95 million, it was still an increase from the $41 million posted a year earlier.

In addition, in early December, “Cowen analyst Brian Holland initiated coverage of Tattooed Chef with an Outperform rating and $24 price target. Tattooed is a “favorable risk/reward play” on the “emerging secular tailwinds” of plant-based and frozen foods, Holland tells investors in a research note. The analyst likes the company’s single brand focus and vertical integration, as well as its approach to scaling the business by acquiring capacity,” as noted by TheFly.com. 

Plant Based Food: VegTech Plant-Based Innovation & Climate ETF (EATV)

One of my favorite ways to trade any hot, up and coming sector is with an exchange-traded-fund (ETF). Not only do they provide greater industry diversification, they cost less.  With an expense ratio of 0.75%, this ETF offers exposure to plant based food and ingredient companies, plant based materials companies, agriculture tech companies, and alternative protein companies.

Some of its top holdings include Beyond Meat Inc., MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI), Ingredion Inc. (NYSE:INGR), elf Beauty (NYSE:ELF), Oatly Group (NASDAQ:OTLY), and Celsius Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CELH) to name a few.

On the date of publication, Ian Cooper did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines. 

Ian Cooper, a contributor to InvestorPlace.com, has been analyzing stocks and options for web-based advisories since 1999.