There aren't many companies catering to vegans on the ASX, but Pure Foods Tasmania Ltd (ASX: PFT) may be giving it a go. Its share price is up today after it shared news it has acquired another plant-based food brand. The company announced its acquisition of Cashew Creamery, which follows its acquisition of Lauds Plant Based Foods last month. It also holds ownership of plant-based cheese brand New Pastures.
The company stated in this morning's announcement its strategy is to grow into the plant-based market through acquisitions.
The Pure Foods share price is up after today's news. At the time of writing, shares are trading for 83 cents, up 4.4% marking an intraday high.
Let's look further into Pure Foods' plant-based approach.
Growing through acquisitions
Pure Foods announced it has acquired Cashew Creamery this morning.
The latest acquisition is another step for the company's growth into the plant-based food market, which it states is set to be worth $3.9 billion by 2024.
According to Pure Foods, the cashew-based ice cream brand has grown its year to date sales by more than 50% over the year ending on 8 March 2021.
The acquisition is estimated to cost Pure Foods around $420,000, with approximately 52% to be paid in cash and 48% in shares.
On 2 February, Pure Foods announced it had acquired Lauds Plant-Based Foods.
It stated that doing so would grow the brand significantly in the short term due to Pure Foods' extensive distribution channels. Additionally, it also said that it hoped its ownership of Lauds gives it access to its niche market network.
Pure Foods' CEO Michael Cooper commented on the company's plant-based focus when announcing its acquisition of Lauds:
We believe we can build an amazing business that can bring more and more plant-based food and beverages to Australia and distributed to our core export customers, principally in Hong Kong and Singapore.
While it's only early days for Pure Food's vegan approach, its future may be interesting.
Pure Food's share price snapshot
The Pure Foods share price hasn't necessarily shown the same optimism in the plant-based food sector as the company. It is currently down by 20% year to date. Though, it is up 220% over the last 12 months.
The company has a market capitalisation of around $38 million, with approximately 53 million shares outstanding.
