Today, vegan brand Beyond Meat and food and beverage giant PepsiCo announced a new joint corporation, The PLANeT Partnership. Through the venture, Beyond Meat and Pepsi will develop, produce, and market plant-based snacks and beverages. “Plant-based proteins represent an exciting growth opportunity for us, a new frontier in our efforts to build a more sustainable food system and be a positive force for people and the planet, while meeting consumer demand for an expanded portfolio of more nutritious products,” Pepsi Global Chief Commercial Officer Ram Krishnan said.
Through the partnership, Beyond Meat will leverage Pepsi’s extensive marketing and production networks while Pepsi can capitalize on the growth of the plant-based industry. “PepsiCo represents the ideal partner for us in this exciting endeavor, one of global reach and importance,” Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown said.
While the types of products that will be developed have not been disclosed, Pepsi currently owns a variety of classic snack brands such as Doritos, Funyuns, Ruffles, and Cheetos, along with beef jerky brand Matador.
Beyond Meat at Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Starbucks
In addition to Pepsi, the vegan brand has secured several key partnerships in recent months. In November 2020, Pizza Hut became the first national pizza chain to offer Beyond Meat’s vegan sausage as a topping on its menus nationwide. Taco Bell—which will revive potatoes in March—is currently working closely with Beyond Meat to develop its first plant-based meat option, which it aims to test launch within the next year. The vegan brand also expanded its partnership with Starbucks—which offers menu items made with Beyond Meat in the United Kingdom and China—to the Middle East where the coffee chain now serves two Beyond Beef-filled sandwiches at 200 locations across the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
This post was originally published on VegNews.com.
