Sometimes, even the most boring stocks hold big potential. Look at plant-based food stocks, for example. 

While these may not be the most exciting stocks, statistics point to strong future growth. Younger generations, including Generation Z, just saw a five percentage-point increase in their adoption of plant-based food since 2021. All of which presents “a significant opportunity for sustainable food brands,” as noted by Trellis.net.

In addition, according to analysts at the Brightfield Group, “Gen Z is opting for plant-based dairy alternatives such as oat milk, plant-based ice cream, pea milk and soy milk. They do not appear to be adopting plant-based meat replacements with the same enthusiasm.”

With stats pointing to further growth, analysts at Spherical Insights say the global plant-based market could be worth about $55.84 billion by 2033 from $23.73 billion today.

That being said, investors may want to keep an eye on plant-based food stocks, such as:

Oatly (OTLY)

Look at oat milk stocks, like Oatly (NASDAQ:OTLY).

For one, earnings are improving. Its earnings per share loss of five cents, for example, beat estimates by two cents. Revenue of $202.2 million, up 3.2% year-over-year, beat by $910,000. It also raised its full-year outlook for revenue growth to a new range of 6% to 10% from 5% to 10%. It also expects to post an EBITDA loss of $35 million to $50 million, which is slightly better than its prior calls for a loss of $35 million to $60 million.

Two, the plant-based drink is popular. In fact, over the last year, U.S. retail sales jumped to $695 million (28% growth), according to Ambrook.com. Demand for oat milk is also up in grocery stores, where it held a 24% share of the retail plant-based milk market in 2023. 

That being said, OTLY could push higher over the long haul.

Ingredion (INGR)

While Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) isn’t one of the pure play plant-based food stocks, it has been increasing its plant-based offerings, including patties, seafood and chicken. And it carries a healthy dividend of 2.43% and just recently paid out a quarterly dividend of 78 cents.

Earnings have also been okay. Its EPS of $2.87 beat by 38 cents. Revenue of $1.88 billion did miss by $100 million, though. INGR also raised its full-year EPS guidance to a new range of $10.20 to $10.70, and also raised its adjusted EPS range to $9.70 to $10.20.

Plus, as noted in a recent press release, the company expects to deploy cash towards organic investments, dividends and share buybacks.

However, despite recent positives, I’d wait for the stock to cool off a bit. At the moment, it’s technically stretched at $128.19. It’s also overbought on RSI, MACD and Williams’ %R. So, I’d wait for it to pullback a bit before taking a long position.

Bunge (BG)

With Bunge (NYSE:BG), I’d use recent weakness as a buying opportunity.

Thanks to a massive pullback in the broader market, BG slipped from about $115 to a recent low of $96. Here, it’s also wildly oversold on RSI, MACD and Williams’ %R. From here, I’d like to see it refill its bearish gap at around $115 near term.

It’s also not a plant-based pure play, but it does offer the ingredients used in meat and dairy alternatives. Plus, it carries a healthy dividend yield of 2.84%, which we can collect while waiting for the eventual recovery in the Bunge stock.

We also have to consider that BG has priced in a good deal of weakness, including the overall market decline, the Citi analyst downgrade on biofuels weakness and the delay of its $8.2 billion acquisition of Viterra. 

That being said, take advantage of BG weakness and collect its yield while you wait.

On the date of publication, Ian Cooper did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

On the date of publication, the responsible editor did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.