PepsiCo and Beyond Meat’s joint venture has moved from Ethan Brown’s lap to store shelves.
Brown, the founder of Beyond Meat, alluded to a “major product” that he had been snacking on during the company’s last quarterly earnings call, one that would energize both partners after intensive spending and R&D into the line.
Behold Beyond Meat plant-based jerky, which has launched in Walmart, Ralphs, and online. Neither company would discuss the product, although its label makes it clear that it’s the first retail launch of the PLANet Partnership.
Announced early last year, the joint venture was presented by its founders as a way to utilize Beyond Meat’s product development expertise and PepsiCo’s wide distribution network to develop plant-based beverages and snacks. While Beyond Meat is seeking to prove that it is able to go beyond the meat case, PepsiCo is looking to cater to younger consumers seeking out more sustainable, better-for-you products.
Other global corporations have since followed the partnership path, with Kraft Heinz announcing its own JV with milk and meat alternative brand The NotCo last month.
In the case of PLANet Partnership, Beyond Meat sells products into the JV, and then splits the profit or loss with PepsiCo depending on its retail sales, a structure revealed by Beyond Meat COO Phil Harden during the analyst call that featured Brown’s snacking.
As for product details, Beyond Jerky is available in Original, Teriyaki, and Hot and Spicy flavors, and is being sold on Walmart.com for $3.98 per 3 oz. bag, with natural grocery chain Ralphs listing the item for $5.29 on its ecommerce site. Single-serving 1 oz. bags are also on sale at Walmart for $1.78 and on Amazon.com in a 10-pack for $20.99. Kroger – which owns Ralphs – also has a listing for the jerky, but does not yet have a price.
Each half-cup (30 gram) serving of jerky contains 10 grams of protein, 90 calories, 4-5 grams of sugar and 450-500 grams of sodium, and is made with a proprietary blend of mung bean protein, pea protein and gluten-free oat bran and fiber.
The jerky’s packaging states it has no GMOs (though is not Non-GMO Project certified), and has no gluten or soy. Beyond Meat’s name is on the front of pack, with the product referred to as Beyond Jerky in romance copy on the back of the bag. The only reference to PepsiCo, and The PLANeT Partnership comes via small text at the bottom of the bag regarding manufacturing.
Beyond Meat has relied heavily on partnerships to help build brand awareness and drive trial. The company has launched co-branded products with companies such as RealGood Foods, Thrive Market and Simply Fresh, and has helped develop custom branded menu items at restaurants such as Panda Express, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut.
The company is entering a competitive category. While Conagra has a line of soy-based jerky under the Gardein brand and former Hershey’s owned Krave has its own line of legume based jerky, emerging brands including Chef’s Cut, Eat the Change and Pan’s have also all launched mushroom-based jerkies.
Beyond Meat has long promoted its meat-like taste and appearance, promising that its products can be substituted with no noticeable compromise in taste. However, the question remains if this will be a selling point in jerky, or if consumers will pay a higher price for a plant-based option. Other premium meat snack brands have also tried to launch in convenience, a key channel for jerky, but have struggled to compete in price with larger conventional players such as Jack Link’s and Slim Jim.
Consumer interest in plant-based meat alternatives has still been on the upswing, but on its Q4 2021 earnings call last month, Beyond Meat reported a decline of 8% year-over-year in US retail sales, citing increased competition and a decline in growth in the plant-based meat category from 45% in 2020 to negative 0.4% in 2021.