Beyond Meat: moves a big step closer to Europe

El Segundo / CA. (bmi) Beyond Meat Inc., a leader in plant-based meat, announced that it has expanded its partnership with Zandbergen World’s Finest Meat to produce the brand’s innovative plant-based meats at a new manufacturing facility being constructed by Zandbergen in Zoeterwoude, the Netherlands. Upon completion of the facility, which is expected in the first quarter of 2020, the manufacturing partnership will mark Beyond Meat’s first production capability outside the United States. Localized production is expected to reduce the brand’s transportation footprint, while increasing the speed in which Beyond Meat can get products to customers across Europe.

«The consumer response in Europe has been very positive and we look forward to being able to better serve those customers with locally produced products. We are pleased to have strong strategic partners in Europe like Zandbergen to help us grow our global footprint,» said Seth Goldman, Executive Chairman of Beyond Meat.

Last year, Zandbergen World’s Finest Meat started distributing Beyond Meat’s products throughout Europe across both foodservice and retail.

«As the demand for plant-based products continues to expand in Europe, we are thrilled to be partnering with Beyond Meat to produce their innovative products outside the U.S.,» said Adriaan Figee, Chief Commercial Officer of Zandbergen World’s Finest Meat.

Most recently, the «Beyond Burger» joined the meat case at Albert Heijn in the Netherlands, Delhaize in Belgium and Tesco in the UK. In addition to these key retailers, Beyond Meat is focused on expanding availability across foodservice in Europe, targeting popular burgers chains and innovative restauranteurs looking to serve delicious, high-quality plant-based meat.

Beyond Meat’s mission is to create nutritious plant-based meats free of soy, gluten and GMOs that taste delicious and deliver a consumer experience that is indistinguishable from that provided by animal-based meats. Beyond Meat is currently distributed internationally, through distributors in Australia, Chile, the European Union, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, the Middle East, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Kingdom, making it one of the most widely distributed plant-based meats currently available on the market.