Investors have made tasty returns on Beyond Meat, and bigger brands such as Nestlé also hope to bag the meat-free buck

Sceptical investors who were doubtful about the substance of something used to ask: “Where’s the beef?” Now, since the stock market valuation of a meat-free burger maker soared above $10.2bn (£8.2bn), perhaps we should be asking: “Who needs the beef?”

Beyond Meat is a producer of plant-based foods that floated its shares at $25 in May, after which they sizzled to $201 before shrivelling somewhat to $175 on Friday. That still leaves initial investors, including the billionaire Bill Gates and the actor Leonardo DiCaprio, with lip-smacking returns.

Impossible Foods is another start-up backed by celebrities — including the tennis player Serena Williams and singer Katy Perry — that aims to satisfy a growing appetite for vegan food that looks like traditional products. The shares are