PepsiCo, Beyond Meat partnership launches first plant-based snack 

USA – American beverage and snack giant PepsiCo and its partner Beyond Meat have debuted their first plant-based snack made under a partnership that was first announced over a year ago. 

The plant-based jerky is made from ingredients including peas and mung beans and contains 10 grams of protein per serving. 

The snack which is also the first shelf-stable product from Beyond Meat is available in three varieties: Original, Hot & Spicy and Teriyaki. 

Out of all the snacking segments to get into, jerky’s popularity among people in the United States makes it a good place for this partnership to start.

According to consumer surveys from YouGov conducted in late 2021, 58% of participants like jerky products.  

A Nielsen study from 2017 reported on by The Washington Post found meat snack sales in the previous year were US$2.8 billion and had shown a 7% compound growth rate since 2013. 

Beyond Meat and PepsiCo announced their Planet Partnership joint venture in January 2021 saying they would leverage Beyond Meat’s technology in plant-based protein development and PepsiCo’s marketing and commercial capabilities. 

Their new product takes Beyond Meat into an entirely new category for Beyond Meat, something that could help jumpstart the publicly traded company’s sagging sales. 

On Beyond Meat’s last earnings call, CEO Ethan Brown broke down the many complex reasons that U.S. retail sales were down 19.5% compared to the previous year.  

But he said that the first product from the joint venture with PepsiCo was a reason to be optimistic about the future. 

This new launch, however, isn’t the only plant-based jerky available on shelves. Nestlé’s Sweet Earth, Conagra’s Gardein and Krave already have plant-based jerky products available.  

Since this segment is crowded, Beyond Meat and the Planet Partnership need to execute well on all fronts to make the product attractive to the customer 

Beyond Meat Jerky also needs to get to the consumer and be a common choice wherever consumers are shopping for meat snacks, and not just sold in specialty grocery stores. 

 While plant-based products tend to be priced at a premium because of increased manufacturing costs right now, the jerky also can’t be too expensive for the average consumer to choose it as a snack. 

Under this partnership, this jerky should be able to find success in the space as Beyond Meat has a history of executing well.  

In the company’s most recent earnings call last month, Brown said Beyond Meat is the No. 1 brand in the plant-based meat sector, with the highest brand velocity, high household penetration and repeat rates. 

PepsiCo is also a master of distribution and has in place a massive retail reach and infrastructure which can be leveraged to get the product to the places it needs to be.  

Its Frito-Lay snacking division also owns meat jerky brand Matador, meaning it has all of the inroads necessary to get Beyond Meat Jerky to reach consumers. 

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