Organic food in hot demand as investors pile into Forbidden Foods' ASX debut

Investors clearly like what health food company Forbidden Foods (ASX:FFF) is offering, with the stock doubling in less than 20 minutes of it lighting up the ASX boards.

Less companies have made their ASX debut in 2020, but the majority that have got an IPO away have witnessed strong investor buying on their first day of public life.

Forbidden Foods listed on the ASX today at 11am AEST after completing a $6m IPO at 20c per share.

And by 11.16am AEST the stock hit an intra-day peak of 40c.

Forbidden Foods (ASX:FFF) share price chart

Organic food demand on the rise

The organic food company began in 2010 and supplies to over 3,500 retailers including Woolworths (ASX:WOW) and US retail giant Costco.

Food marked as “organic” has been produced without the use of synthetic chemicals or genetically modified components.

Forbidden Foods told shareholders in its IPO prospectus Australia’s organic foods and beverages market was worth $2.1bn in 2018.

The company exports to multiple international markets including New Zealand, Ireland, the US and Singapore.

Currently, it has three business segments. The first is Forbidden, which sells wholegrain products including the company’s flagship Black organic rice.

The other two are Sensory Mill, which produces ingredients such as grains and flours, and Funch — which sells DIY cooking mixes. The latter business will launch a baby food range in the coming months.

Forbidden Foods CEO Marcus Brown said the company’s plan was to launch new innovative product lines, deepen its market penetration and broaden its international focus.

“We expect the demand for healthy ‘better for you’ and plant-based food products to only increase and we believe Forbidden Foods is well placed to establish and grow market share in our targeted sectors of the food and beverage industry,” he said.