Vegan burger company Beyond Meat\'s IPO sizzles

Meatless burger company Beyond Meat is making its Wall Street debut on Thursday (May 2).

With its IPO now priced above its initial range - at 25 dollars a share.

There's already signs of sizzling investor appetite - with the company increasing the number of shares on offer by 10 percent, and raising its initial price range from between 19 and 21 dollars a share to between 23 and 25 dollars earlier this week.

At the current price, Beyond Meat raises around 240 million dollars - with a valuation of 1.5 billion including underwriters' options.

Plant-based protein is seen as more eco-friendly, and it's attracted Bill Gates and Leonardo Di Caprio as investors.

But it's not the only player out there.

Fast food giants Burger King and White Castle have added meat substitutes made by Beyond Meat's rival - Impossible Foods.

And Tyson foods, they're the biggest meat processor in the U.S., sold its own stake in the company as it preps its own brand of alternative protein.

Analysts estimated the global market for meat substitutes was worth over 4 and a half billion dollars last year - and it's predicted to reach 6.4 billion by 2023.

The company's said it wants to use most of the funds they'll raise in the IPO to boost R&D and build up its own meatless burger manufacturing.