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Beyond Meat News: big partnerships, but is it sustainable?
In Beyond Meat news, the California-based manufacturer of plant-based meat substitutes announced it signed deals with McDonald’s and Yum Brands to provide flagship menu offerings with the fast-food giants in the future. “It is my strong belief,” CEO Ethan Brown told investors, “that partnerships of this nature with partners of this caliber are required to accelerate our flywheel of availability and scale-driven cost reduction.” Taking a step back, there are equal reasons to be excited about Beyond Meat’s future, as there are to be pessimistic.
Why the Beyond Meat news should excite the packaged food industry
In simplest terms, deals with McDonald’s and Yum Brands! all but guarantee a steady stream of volume for plant-based meat substitutes-a new category. That is exciting! The details are still scarce, but Beyond Meat will develop new plant-based items for KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell under the announced terms. Meanwhile, it is the “preferred supplier” for a plant-based burger for the golden arches-presumably meaning it will develop the burger from a McDonald’s recipe.
From an organizational point of view, Beyond Meat is built around regions and then distribution channels. There are a US and International business that includes retail and foodservice…
