Laird SuperFood IPO: What Investors Need To Know

A plant-based food company founded by surfer Laird Hamilton is set to debut on the NYSE this week.

The Filing: Laird Superfood LSF is seeking to sell 2.65 million shares at a price point of $21 to $22. This is an increase from the 2.2 million shares originally offered at a price point of $18 to $20.

The increase in size and pricing likely indicates strong demand for the IPO.

At a price point of $21.50, the company would raise $58 million and be valued at $184 million.

Danone DANOY will own 9.7% of the company after the IPO, but has an option to buy $10 million in shares as part of the IPO.

About Laird SuperFood: The mission of Laird SuperFood is “to provide great tastings, high quality, plant-based products that are healthy, convenient, affordable and available to all.”

The company’s key plant-based food products include coffee creamers, hydration products and beverage supplements, roasted and instant coffee, teas, and hot chocolate. Creamers represents 68% of 2019 sales.

A large portion of Laird SuperFood sales comes from online sales, including through Amazon.com Inc AMZN and the company’s own website. The company also offers a subscription model direct to consumers. In 2019, subscription and repeat orders represented 65% of sales.

Laird SuperFood products can also be found in Costco Wholesale COST, CVS Health CVS, Kroger KR, and Natural Grocers stores.

In 2019, Costco represented 11.4% of sales for the company. That percentage was 22.1% in the first half of 2020. Amazon represented 30.2% of sales in 2019.

Financials: Sales for Laird SuperFood have increased at a compound annual growth rate of 185% since the first quarter of 2016.

Net sales in the second quarter of 2020 were up 90% year over year. Sales over the last twelve months are $18.8 million. The company had sales of $13.1 million in fiscal 2019. First half 2020 sales were $11.1 million, a year over year increase of 104%.

Growth: Laird SuperFood competes in the U.S. natural and organic market which is valued at $152 billion. The plant-based segment saw sales of $4.5 billion in 2019 and is growing faster than many other food segments.

Laird SuperFood has a vertical integration business model. According to the filing, the company has the ability to produce $100 million in sales internally from powdered products.

The company has products available in over 5,500 retail stores, a number it hopes can hit over 20,000.

Laird SuperFood sees an opportunity to acquire small companies and rebrand them under the Laird SuperFood name. So far, the company has seen only organic growth.

Benzinga’s Take: One of the biggest pure-play plant-based food companies is Beyond Meat Inc BYND. Shares of Beyond Meat are up 97% in 2020, trading with a market capitalization of $9 billion.

Beyond Meat has seen impressive growth going from $16.2 million in annual sales in 2016 to $297.9 million in 2019.

The Laird SuperFood dollar amounts are much lower, but show a similar growth path as Beyond Meat saw prior to its IPO.

Privately-held Impossible Foods was recently valued at $4 billion in a 2020 funding round.

The low number of shares available and the upsized pricing range could make Laird SuperFood shares a hot commodity in their early trading days.