--- title: "3 Plant-Based Food Stocks to Buy as Gen Z Gobbles Up Vegan Alternatives" description: "Plant-based food stocks are gaining popularity among Gen Z and young millennials, with 81% of college students choosing plant-based options. Kellanova (K) is a multinational food manufacturing company" type: "news" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/207505292.md" published_at: "2024-06-28T10:00:00.000Z" --- # 3 Plant-Based Food Stocks to Buy as Gen Z Gobbles Up Vegan Alternatives > Plant-based food stocks are gaining popularity among Gen Z and young millennials, with 81% of college students choosing plant-based options. Kellanova (K) is a multinational food manufacturing company with a sustainability-friendly brand called MorningStar Farms. Kroger (KR) offers a vegan brand called Simple Truth and has a strong core business. Oatly (OTLY) is a riskier option with fluctuating financials. For those that prefer the all-natural route, the concept of plant-based food stocks might seem alien. However, it’s important to keep in mind that social mores and preferences change over time. Right now, the we have the intersection of young millennials and older members of Generation Z sparking a new paradigm in the broader culinary world. Let’s just get down to the hard numbers. According to information cited by The Food Institute, a vast majority of college students – specifically 81% – will choose a plant-based food offering when it’s the default option. Further, extensive research indicates that Gen Z members (colloquially known as Zoomers) are more interested in plant-based foods than older demographics. With young millennials generally carrying the same sentiments as Gen Z across a range of social wellness issues, investors need to pay close attention to this core need. With that in mind, below are compelling plant-based food stocks to consider. ## Kellanova (K) Source: JHVEPhoto / Shutterstock.com Multinational food manufacturing giant **Kellanova** (NYSE:**K**) – formerly known as Kellogg’s – isn’t exactly what you would call the most exciting idea. Since the start of the year, K stock slipped a bit under 1%. It’s done a lot of movement but the net gain has largely been lateral to use a football analogy. Still, market participants should keep Kellanova on their list of plant-based food stocks. Mainly, that’s because the company features a sustainability-friendly brand called MorningStar Farms. Featuring a robust portfolio of veggie and vegan plant-based food products, MorningStar could take a bite out of the competition. Of course, that would be positive for K stock. Another catalyst to consider is the enormous scale. In the trailing 12 months (TTM), Kellanova posted net income of $812 million or earnings of $2.36 per share. Revenue during this period reached $12.98 billion. For fiscal 2024, experts see an increase of 12% in earnings per share to $3.62. To be fair, the top line might dip 3.1% to $12.72 billion. That’s not necessarily set in stone. Plus, Kellanova offers a forward dividend yield of 3.86%. ## Kroger (KR) Source: Eric Glenn / Shutterstock.com Falling under the grocery store segment, **Kroger** (NYSE:**KR**) isn’t a pure-play candidate for plant-based food stocks. Instead, the company operates a combination of food and drug stores, along with multidepartment and marketplace stores. However, under its mainline business, Kroger offers a vegan brand called Simple Truth. Not that I’m an arbiter or anything but I’ve tried it several times and it’s a wonderful product. Fundamentally, Kroger should benefit from a scale advantage: it simply has the resources to beat out smaller rivals in the space. Also, the plant-based avenue is more of a side gig for the grocer. If it doesn’t pan out for whatever reason, it can always depend on its core business. And this business has been consistently strong. In the past four quarters, the company’s average EPS came out to $1.17. It’s worth noting that Kroger beat all four of the bottom-line estimates. The average earnings surprise came out to 8.6%. During the TTM period, the company posted net income of $2.13 billion on sales of $150.14 billion. For this year, analysts anticipate a flat performance. However, in the following year, EPS and revenue may rise modestly to $4.55 and $152.06 billion, respectively. ## Oatly (OTLY) Source: Vladislav Noseek / Shutterstock.com Admittedly, the top two ideas for plant-based food stocks represented more conservative ideas: not much growth potential but they should keep the ship steady. With **Oatly** (NASDAQ:**OTLY**), we’re dialing up the risk-reward factor. As of this writing, OTLY is a literal penny stock, having lost almost 24% of equity value year-to-date. That’s your warning if you want to step away now. If you need another warning, the financials are all over the map. In the past four quarters, Oatly’s average “earnings” landed at 16.5 cents per share below breakeven. It generated positive EPS only in the third quarter last year. Moreover, the average “earnings” surprise came out to nearly 20% below the zero line. In the TTM period, Oatly incurred a net loss of $387.1 million or 65 cents per share. However, revenue hit $786.86 million. With the company specializing in providing diary-replacement products for those who are lactose intolerant (a large global population group), Oatly enjoys a massive total addressable market. Will the market recognize this? It’s hard to say. So far, analysts see relatively modest growth of 5.8% to sales of $828.58 million. However, a paradigm-shifting event could send OTLY stock soaring. *On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto* *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**.* A former senior business analyst for Sony Electronics, Josh Enomoto has helped broker major contracts with Fortune Global 500 companies. Over the past several years, he has delivered unique, critical insights for the investment markets, as well as various other industries including legal, construction management, and healthcare. Tweet him at @EnomotoMedia. Consumer Staples, Food Growth Stocks ### Related Stocks - [K.US - Kellanova](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/K.US.md) ## Related News & Research | Title | Description | URL | |-------|-------------|-----| | 12:46 ET/更正 -- WK Kellogg/ | 凱洛格的糖霜玉米片®與嘻哈藝術家 J.I.D 合作，推出了一首名為 “HEY TONY!” 的新頌歌，旨在激勵青少年。這次合作重新演繹了標誌性的 90 年代廣告曲，倡導自信和潛力。此次發佈包括限量版商品和一款特別的麥片盒，上面印有 J.I. | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276257321.md) | | 卡夫亨氏任命 Nicolas Amaya 為北美業務總裁 | 卡夫亨氏已任命前家樂氏高管尼古拉斯·阿馬亞為其北美業務總裁，任命於 2 月 23 日生效。此決定是在公司因食品行業面臨挑戰而暫停分拆為兩個實體的計劃後做出的。新任首席執行官史蒂夫·凱希蘭強調，這些問題是可控的。阿馬亞將負責卡夫亨氏最大收入市 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276235567.md) | | 恆地慶祝 50 週年 再辦兩大活動 與 3500 名長幼基層迎新歲 | 恆基地產慶祝成立 50 週年，舉辦了「馬年耆樂團年宴」和「社區同樂日」兩大活動，吸引 3500 名長者、年輕人及基層家庭參與。活動包括團年飯、非物質文化遺產展示、幸運抽獎及兒童表演，旨在營造節慶氛圍並傳遞愛心與正能量。集團與 20 多個非牟 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276030098.md) | | 在過去 20 年中，持有勞氏公司股票你會賺多少錢 | 勞氏公司 (NYSE:LOW) 在過去 20 年中實現了 11.07% 的平均年回報率，超出市場 2.33%。目前市值為 1566.7 億美元，20 年前對 LOW 股票的 100 美元投資現在價值為 802.83 美元，突顯了複利對投資增 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276392296.md) | | 我們嘗試了一款可能在美國銷售的富含纖維的健怡可樂。雖然不是所有人都喜歡，但它贏得了一些粉絲的喜愛 | 我們嘗試了一款可能在美國銷售的纖維填充版健怡可樂。雖然並不適合所有人，但它贏得了一些粉絲 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276094531.md) | --- > **Disclaimer**: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.