As competition intensifies in the plant based food market, Beyond Meat, an alternative protein provider, is focusing on partnerships to drive top line growth. Beyond Meat along with PepsiCo established The PLANeT Partnership (TPP), a joint venture to develop plant-based snacks and beverages, January 2021. This partnership will see vegan food tech segment enter into new product categories and distribution channels. The partnership will capitalize on the Beyond Meat’s plant-based food tech know-how with the venture bringing in global commercial and marketing capabilities.
In the food service segment, Beyond Meat has partnered with Pizza Hut to launch Beyond Pan Pizzas including the Beyond Italian Sausage Pizza and the Great Beyond Pizza, in the US, in November 2020. The pizzas include Beyond Meat’s proprietary Beyond Italian sausage created in collaboration with Pizza Hut. The Beyond Meat pizzas were also made available at select Pizza Hut locations in the UK for a limited period.
COVID-19 has further accelerated plant-based meat consumption as consumers have become mindful about their ingredients and correlation between coronavirus and meat. In October 2020, TGI Fridays partnered with Beyond Meat, to include Beyond Beef, plant-based ground meat, to its menu to further expand its offerings. In 2020, Beyond Meat also collaborated with Yum Brands, Starbucks, and Sinodis. As of January 2021, Beyond Meat built on strong partnerships with over 70,000 foodservice outlets.
To improve its retail presence, Beyond Meat partnered with Alibaba Group Holding to offer its Beyond Burger at 50 Freshippo stores in Shanghai, China, July 2020. Freshippo stores are Alibaba’s innovative supermarkets intending to combine physical and digital shopping experiences. Beyond Meat further expanded its offerings to other locations in China.
In September 2020, to cater to increasing acceptance of plant based meat, Beyond Meat extended the distribution of its frozen Beyond Breakfast Sausage Patties to select Super Target, Kroger, Publix, Harris Teeter, and Walmart stores. As of September 2020, the US and international retail net revenue improved by 115% and 135%, respectively, YoY . Such partnerships are expected to support continued healthy growth in retail as well as food service segments.
According to ConsumerIntel360, the plant protein market in United States has recorded a strong growth with a CAGR of 22.1% during 2018-2020. Plant protein industry is expected to continue to record strong growth in the United States over the forecast period. It is expected to record a CAGR of 15.0% during 2021-2027. The plant protein consumption in the country will increase from US$ 5,706.3 million in 2020 to reach US$ 15,757.3 million by 2027.
