NEWS IN BRIEF
Beyond Meat to launch and produce plant-based meat products in China
After several months of collaborative discussions, Beyond Meat (Jiaxing) Food Co. and JXEDZ agreed to design and develop two manufacturing facilities in the JXEDZ, a historic and commercially important development zone located close to Shanghai.
Since its founding in 1992, JXEDZ has supported and worked with 640 foreign-funded enterprises, including 35 Fortune 500 members from more than 40 countries and regions.
"Beyond Meat is building the perfect road to long term success in China. It has the confidence to set up dedicated, cutting edge production capacity via a wholly-owned subsidiary, located on the mainland close to Shanghai. The JXEDZ is a visionary and proactive partner with an excellent record in supporting the food industry," said Micky Pant, senior advisor to Beyond Meat.
Beyond Meat’s portfolio of plant-based proteins are currently available in approximately 112,000 retail and foodservice outlets in 84 countries as of June 27, 2020. Beyond Meat, Inc. will be the first multinational company focused solely on plant-based meat production to bring its own major production facility into China, noted the plant-based meat company.
"China is one of the world's largest markets for animal-based meat products, and potentially for plant-based meat," said Ethan Brown, CEO and founder of Beyond Meat.
Sales of plant-based meat in China increased from $7.2bn in 2014 to $9.7bn in 2018, according to Euromonitor International.
"With its expertise in the food industry, proximity to Shanghai, and excellent logistics and people capabilities, the JXEDZ will be the perfect partner and location for our ambitious plans for the China market," added Candy Chan, general manager for Beyond Meat in China.
Trial production is expected to begin within months with full scale production in early 2021, according to Beyond Meat and JXEDZ. China is expected to be one of the most important markets in the world for Beyond Meat, as a production and R&D center, and as a major market in the years to come, said Beyond Meat.
