Late last year, Michael McCain was on a webcast with Maple Leaf Foods Inc. MFI-T shareholders, delivering the previous quarter’s financial results. The news wasn’t great.
The company’s meat-protein business had performed well – revenue had grown by 13 per cent. But growth in the plant-protein division “had evaporated,” he said. Sales were down by 6 per cent, instead of projected growth of 30 per cent.
After several years of proselytizing about “meat” made from plants – doubling down on the business, then doubling down again – Mr. McCain now said Maple Leaf would “reassess” its investment.
It was a remarkable shift.
