Food initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2024 have been surprisingly sparse. The financial market’s volatility and shifting consumer spending habits have contributed to this trend. Investors remain cautious and companies are wary of uncertain economic conditions. Despite these challenges, three notable companies have debuted on the stock market.
Let’s examine the food companies that completed IPOs in 2024 and learn how they have performed since going public.
BBB Foods Inc.
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BBB Foods Inc. is a prominent player in the food industry. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico, the company operates a chain of grocery retail stores across Mexico through its subsidiaries. BBB Foods offers a variety of products, including household cleaning supplies, personal hygiene items, cosmetics, beauty products, pharmaceuticals and general merchandise.
Its food and beverage offerings range from jellies and desserts to coffee, tea, chocolates, breads, dry and frozen foods, snacks and sweets. The company provides a mix of branded, private label and spot products, catering primarily to low-to-middle income households through online channels.
BBB Foods went public on February 9, 2024, with an initial stock price of $17.50 per share. Since then, the company has experienced moderate growth, with stocks fluctuating but generally trending upward. Last year, the company earned just over $44 billion in revenue and its stock price is currently sitting at around $24 per share.
Related: Food IPOs in 2023: Cava Group, BranchOut Food and Others
Ibotta, Inc.
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Ibotta, Inc., based in Denver, Colorado, has revolutionized the shopping experience. Founded in 2012 by Bryan Leach, Ibotta started as a mobile app offering cash back on everyday purchases. Over time, it expanded its platform to include a wide variety of grocery items, making it a favorite among savvy shoppers.
Ibotta’s business model is unique in the food industry. The app provides users with rebates on products they buy frequently. This approach has garnered a massive user base and strong partnerships with major retailers. The company’s revenue streams come from both user engagement and retailer commissions.
Ibotta went public on April 18, 2024, with an initial stock price of $88 per share. Its IPO was highly anticipated due to the company’s innovative approach to consumer savings and robust user growth. Since then, Ibotta’s stock has dropped to around $75 per share, and the company brought in $320 million in revenue in 2023.
Super Hi International Holding Ltd.
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Super Hi International Holding Ltd., known for its chain of hot pot restaurants, is a key player in the Asian dining segment. The company opened its first restaurant in Singapore in 2012 and currently operates over 100 restaurants in 11 countries. Its vision was to bring authentic, high-quality hot pot dining experiences to a broader audience.
Super Hi offers a range of hot pot broths and fresh ingredients, providing a communal dining experience that has become extremely popular. Its restaurants emphasize quality, cleanliness and exceptional customer service. This focus has allowed it to expand rapidly across Asia and into international markets.
The company went public on May 17, 2024, with an initial stock price of $19.56 per share. Super Hi’s IPO was met with enthusiasm, reflecting strong investor interest in the growing popularity of Asian cuisine worldwide. In 2023, the company earned approximately $686.36 million in revenue, and its stock price currently sits at $18.80 per share.
Lineage, Inc.
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Lineage, Inc., a subsidiary of BG Lineage Holdings, LLC, is the world’s largest global temperature-controlled warehouse real estate investment trust (REIT). As of March 31, 2024, Lineage operated an interconnected global temperature-controlled warehouse network, encompassing over 84.1 million square feet and 3 billion cubic feet of capacity across 482 warehouses.
Lineage boasts a well-diversified and stable customer base, currently serving more than 13,000 customers, including many of the largest food retailers, manufacturers, processors and food service distributors in the industry. This extensive network and customer focus have positioned Lineage as a leader in the temperature-controlled warehousing sector.
On July 25, 2024, Lineage went public with an initial stock price of $78 per share. The IPO was met with strong investor interest, reflecting confidence in the company’s robust market position and growth potential. Last year, the company reported $5.3 billion in revenue and, its stock price is currently sitting at around $87.
Premium Catering (Holdings) Limited
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Premium Catering (PC), based in Singapore, specializes in providing Halal-certified meals to foreign workers in construction, marine and manufacturing industries. With over 11 years in operation, it also offers buffet catering and previously operated food stalls in dormitories. The company employs smart incubators — heated, compartmentalized food lockers introduced in 2019 — to facilitate safe, contactless meal delivery.
On September 25, 2024, Premium Catering launched its IPO, offering 2,000,000 ordinary shares at $4.75 each. Of these, 1,650,000 shares were issued by the company, and 350,000 were sold by existing shareholders, resulting in total gross proceeds of $9.5 million. The funds are allocated for upgrading IT systems, automating production, expanding the delivery fleet and potential strategic acquisitions.
The company reported revenues of $5.3 million Singaporean dollars (about $4.09 million) in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, and $5.2 million Singaporean dollars (about $4.01 million) in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, but faced financial headwinds, recording a net loss of $400,000 Singaporean dollars (about $310,000) in 2023. Trading under the symbol “PC” on Nasdaq, Premium Catering seeks to address these challenges through strategic investments.
Innovation Beverage Group Limited
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Founded in Australia in 2018, Innovation Beverage Group Limited (IBG) has rapidly grown into a developer, manufacturer, marketer and retailer of 60 beverage formulations across 13 brands, focusing on premium and super-premium segments. The company’s flagship, Australian Bitters Company (ABC), accounted for 40 percent of revenues in 2022, rising to 79 percent in 2023 following the acquisition of Wired For Wine.
IBG’s product portfolio includes exclusive manufacturing rights, and its partnership with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners allows for ABC Bitters’ distribution in Australia while IBG retains rights in other markets. Its direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels include multiple eCommerce platforms, aiming to introduce new brands, such as the non-alcoholic Drummerboy, for market expansion.
The company went public on September 26, 2024, offering 1,350,000 shares at $4.00 each, raising $5.4 million. Preliminary unaudited financial estimates for the first half of 2024, ending June 30, 2024, show net revenues between $1.6 million and $1.9 million, marking a 26 percent increase from the previous year. Now trading under the symbol “IBG,” IBG aims to leverage these developments to expand its market footprint.
Oriental Rise Holding Limited
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Founded in Ningde, China, Oriental Rise Holding Limited (“Oriental Rise”) is a vertically integrated supplier of tea products, including primarily-processed and refined white and black teas. The company’s operations span cultivation, processing and sales, distinguishing it within China’s tea industry. Oriental Rise’s tea gardens, covering approximately 7.2 million square meters in Fujian Province, yield premium tea known for its quality, attributed to the ideal climate and soil conditions of Zherong County.
Oriental Rise’s primarily-processed white tea accounted for over 82 percent of its revenue in 2022 and 2023. The company’s tea gardens benefit from Zherong County’s advantageous ecological conditions, known for enhancing the tea’s flavor, aroma and quality.
Oriental Rise went public on October 17, 2024, with an initial offering of 1,750,000 shares priced at $4.00 each, raising $7 million in gross proceeds. Following the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option, total proceeds reached $8.05 million from 2,012,500 shares. Trading under the ticker symbol “ORIS” on Nasdaq, the IPO proceeds are allocated for expanding tea garden acquisitions, constructing a new production plant and automating production lines to meet growing demand.
US Tiger Securities, Inc. served as the sole bookrunner for the offering, with The Crone Law Group as company counsel and VCL Law LLP representing the underwriter. This IPO supports Oriental Rise’s ambition to grow its market share in China’s booming white tea sector, projected to reach $2.4 billion by 2026.
Heritage Distilling Holding Company, Inc.
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Heritage Distilling Holding Company, Inc., North America’s most awarded craft distillery for the past decade, is one of the largest independent craft distilleries in the US. The company offers a diverse portfolio of whiskeys, vodkas, gins, rums and ready-to-drink canned cocktails.
Heritage recently announced its initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq under the symbol CASK, offering 1,687,500 shares at $4.00 per share, aiming for $6.75 million in gross proceeds. A concurrent private placement of common warrants is expected to add $1.5 million, bringing total proceeds to $8.25 million, excluding the underwriters’ option to purchase 253,125 additional shares.
Known for premium products like its Stiefel’s Select whiskey line and Special Operations Salute whiskey, which supports veterans and first responders, Heritage plans to expand through traditional and direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales. Its Tribal Beverage Network partners with Native American tribes to establish branded distilleries and tasting rooms, boosting local production and creating economic opportunities.
Competing in a $21.4 billion craft spirits market projected to grow at 29.4 percent annually through 2030, Heritage employs a multi-channel strategy. This includes e-commerce across 46 states, proprietary programs like Cask Club and Spirits Club, and wholesale partnerships. The company also drives consumer engagement through co-located retail spaces with premium craft producers.
Wing Yip Food Holdings Group Limited
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Wing Yip Food Holdings Group Limited, a well-known meat product processor in mainland China, recently completed its IPO, raising $8.2 million from the sale of 2,050,000 American Depositary Shares (ADSs) priced at $4.00 each. Trading began on the Nasdaq Capital Market on November 26, 2024, under the ticker symbol WYHG. Underwriters retain the option to purchase an additional 307,500 ADSs within 45 days of the offering’s close.
The company’s flagship brand, Wing Yip, has roots dating back to 1915, and it continues to lead alongside its snack brands Jiangwang and Kuangke. With Wing Yip’s reputation for its cured, snack and frozen meat products, the company has steadily grown its market share, becoming the second-largest player in China’s cured meat market with 9.2 percent of retail sales in 2022, according to Frost & Sullivan. Its products reach customers across 18 provinces through seven self-operated stores, 79 distributors and multiple e-commerce platforms.
Innovation is a cornerstone of its strategy, with a dedicated research and development team that launched 51 new products in 2023 alone. For the first half of 2024, the company reported revenues of $68.63 million, driven by its core product categories, with cured meat accounting for 57.93 percent.
Proceeds from Wing Yip’s IPO will support production upgrades, marketing efforts and new product development, reflecting Wing Yip’s commitment to evolving with consumer preferences while maintaining its legacy of high-quality offerings.
Food IPOs in 2023
Last year, there were a total of 154 IPOs on the US stock market, four of which were food companies:
- Chanson International Holding, a Chinese food and beverage manufacturer, went public on March 30, 2023, at a stock price of $4 per share.
- Cava Group, Inc., which owns and operates a chain of restaurants under the CAVA brand in the US, went public on June 15, 2023, at a stock price of $22 per share.
- BranchOut Food Inc., an American developer and distributor of plant-based snacks and powders, went public on June 16, 2023, at a stock price of $6 per share.
- GEN Restaurant Group, Inc., which operates restaurants across the US, went public on June 28, 2023, at a stock price of $12 per share.
The Landscape of Food IPOs 2024
The landscape of food IPOs in 2024 has been shaped by cautious optimism. While only three companies have ventured into the public market so far, each represents a unique segment of the food industry. BBB Foods operates within the grocery space. Ibotta leverages technology to enhance consumer shopping experiences. And Super Hi brings Asian dining to a global stage.
The limited number of food IPOs in 2024 highlights broader economic uncertainties and market hesitance. However, these companies’ successful entries into the stock market suggest that investors still see significant potential in innovative and niche food businesses. As consumer preferences continue to evolve, more food companies may consider going public, driven by the need for capital to fuel growth and meet increasing demand.
Each of these companies has navigated the complexities of going public, offering insights into the current state of the food industry. Their journeys reflect broader trends, such as the rise of health-focused eating, the integration of technology in shopping and the global appeal of diverse culinary experiences. As we move through the year, the performance of these food IPOs will be a key indicator of investor sentiment and market conditions in the food sector.
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