Beyond Meat setting sights on faux bacon
With burgers and sausages under its belt, Beyond Meat Inc. is now creating a plant-based alternative for bacon.
The company doesn't have a release date, but Chief Executive Officer Ethan Brown said the product is improving as it goes through development.
The company, which has seen its share price soar almost 700% since its initial public offering in May, is expanding its reach. Its plant-based burgers, faux ground beef and sausages are sold in more than 30,000 supermarkets, restaurants and other venues around the world.
Bacon is part of the company's recent focus on breakfast: Doughnut shop Tim Hortons serves Beyond Meat's sausages on breakfast sandwiches in almost 4,000 locations. Beyond Meat also announced Wednesday a breakfast sandwich partnership with Dunkin' Brands Group Inc.
Conversations with potential customers for the bacon are already underway.
"We're looking forward to trying their bacon whenever we can," said Emily Murphy, director of specialty procurement at Baldor Foods, a produce-focused distributor with centers in New York, Boston and Washington. "We understand from Beyond that it's in the works."
-- Bloomberg News
Car-Mart opens 37th state lot in Conway
Bentonville's America's Car-Mart has opened a new dealership in Conway, its 37th in Arkansas, the used-car seller said Thursday.
Matthew Heiderscheidt will manage the new operation at 2740 Dave Ward Drive. It's his third dealership with Car-Mart, according to a release.
In June, the company opened a dealership in Bryant and said during earnings calls that it intends to open more dealerships in the coming year.
Car-Mart operates 145 dealerships in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
Car-Mart shares closed Thursday at $87.58, down less than 1% in trading on the Nasdaq. Shares have traded as low as $62.42 and as high as $104.25.
-- John Magsam
State index off 3.37, ends day at 427.10
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Thursday at 427.10, down 3.37 points.
"Equity markets were disappointed by comments Thursday by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi that lowered expectations for more aggressive monetary stimulus as the S&P 500 Index lost ground with the energy sector underperforming the broader market," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 07/26/2019