The PLANeT Partnership: Beyond Meat and PepsiCo jointly pilot plant-based snacks and beverages

Beyond Meat and PepsiCo have linked up in a significant move that will create and scale up an array of plant-based selections for the snacks and drinks aisles. The meat alternatives player and beverage giant have coined their new joint venture operations The PLANeT Partnership. 

FoodIngredientsFirst reached out to the companies for insights into the project, which will leverage Beyond Meat’s food processing technologies and PepsiCo’s marketing and commercial capabilities. The financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed. 

However, Beyond Meat’s shares jumped 17.7 percent to US$186.83 today following the announcement yesterday.

“We look forward to together unlocking new categories and product lines that will inspire positive choices for both people and planet,” says Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat founder and CEO. 

“PepsiCo represents the ideal partner for us in this exciting endeavor, one of global reach and importance.”

The new launch follows Beyond Meat’s latest introduction of Beyond Pork in China’s burgeoning plant-based market.Ram Krishnan, PepsiCo’s global chief commercial officer, pegs plant-based proteins as representing a “new frontier” in the company’s race to build sustainable food systems. 

The Cheetos, Doritos and Lay’s manufacturer declined to provide further comment on the distinctive NPD to be rolled out under the new joint venture.

Tapping into Innova Market Insights’ Top Trend for 2021, “Plant-Forward,” the partnership is responding to elevated consumer expectations for greater variety among nutritious products in meat alternatives selections.

Snacking right
“Macronutrient Makeover,” a top trend highlighted in 2020, remains a core formulation theme that has not lost its grip on branding appeal. To this end, PepsiCo expanded its retail activities of Lay’S oven-baked chips to 23 global markets.

Its other snack and beverage lines with health-oriented positionings include Sabra Snack Cups, Alvalle ready-to-drink gazpacho, Quaker Breakfast flats and Gatorade Juiced. 

In addition to organic innovation, the company has also made strategic acquisitions in this space, including companies such as Bare Snacks, a brand of baked fruit and veggie chips; BFY Brands, the maker of PopCorners snacks; and the sparkling water brand SodaStream.

Expanding beyond burgers
Beyond Meat shares a similar appetite for simplicity in its formulations of plant-based ingredients, which do not contain GMOs or bioengineered ingredients. 

Most recently, the plant protein specialist revealed its latest product innovation, Beyond Pork. Designed to imitate the umami flavor, juicy texture and culinary versatility of traditional minced pork, Beyond Pork was created specifically for the Chinese market.

“Macronutrient Makeover,” a top trend highlighted in 2020, remains a core formulation theme that has not lost its grip on branding appeal.The introduction of Beyond Pork follows the launches of the Beyond Burger and Beyond Beef in mainland China through Alibaba Group’s Freshippo, a retail platform.

Active in the sustain domain
Earlier this month, PepsiCo announced its plans to double its science-based climate goal. It is now targeting an absolute reduction of greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain by more than 40 percent by 2030.

Among the key pillars of PepsiCo’s sustainability targets is the expanded use of ingredients grown and harvested with tools and techniques like regenerative agriculture and net water- and carbon-neutral production plants.

The company has ambitions to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity for direct operations across Europe by 2022 through investments in solar and wind, scaling up to renewable electricity in this category worldwide by 2030.

Environmental strategies are a focus of PepsiCo’s recently announced mentor-guided program, which supports a host of “market-ready” health and wellness products including encapsulated functional foods, metabolically personalized dietary advice and a hangover-alleviating probiotic drink.

By Benjamin Ferrer