The beverage and food giant Pepsico and the meat substitute specialist Beyond Meat are joining forces. The US companies announced on Tuesday a joint project to develop, manufacture and market plant-based drinks and snacks. Investors reacted euphorically – the shares of Beyond Meat shot up at times by 39 percent, recording the largest price jump in a year and a half. Pepsi's papers, however, only increased slightly.
Beyond Meat was founded in 2009 and has been listed on the stock exchange since May 2019. The company produces meat alternatives based on plants – without any animal ingredients. The Californians are best known for their vegan burgers, which now run various fast food chains. Especially in the corona pandemic, Beyond Meat and its rival Impossible Foods offer welcome alternatives to the classic US meat industry, whose companies hit the headlines at the beginning of the crisis as Covid-19 infection sources.
The PLANet
The new joint venture is managed by a GmbH called The PLANeT Partnership. Financial details and who with what percentage is involved in the new merger were not given. After McDonalds and Starbucks, Pepsico is the next big player in the food world that Beyond Meat is starting out with. The new partnership opens up completely new opportunities for the Californians. But the American beverage giant can also penetrate the vegan product segment.
