ALEXANDRIA, Va.— Beyond Meat and PepsiCo’s joint venture The PLANeT Partnership is launching a plant-based jerky as its first product, reports CNBC. And McDonald’s is set to expand its pilot of the McPlant burger to about 600 restaurants in the Dallas-Fort Worth and San Francisco Bay areas.
Bloomberg, who first reported on the PepsiCo launch, showed a photo of the sample product. The packaging says that the jerky does not contain soy, gluten or genetically modified organisms and has 10 grams of plant protein per serving.
The joint venture’s plant-based jerky won’t be the first on the market. Conagra Brands’ Gardein has a plant-based jerky joint venture, as well as a number of smaller startups.
In September, PepsiCo and Beyond Meat teamed up to form The PLANeT Partnership to develop, produce and market innovative snack and beverage products made from plant-based protein. The team had planned to release its first product in early 2022.
The key pillars of the partnership include using plant-based ingredients; expanding the company's portfolio of products that have been grown and made sustainably, through tools and techniques like regenerative agriculture and net water- and carbon-neutral production plants; and making it easier for consumers focused on health and wellness to consume products on the go.
For 2022, fast-casual restaurants are introducing more faux “meat” options, starting with a vegan “chorizo” at Chipotle Mexican Grill and plant-based fried “chicken” from Beyond Meat at Yum Brands Inc.’s KFC, both available as limited time offers.
McDonald’s partnered with Beyond Meat to test the McPlant burger, which will be available for a limited time in the two Texas and California test markets starting February 14. The fast-food giant began testing the plant-based burger last November.
A new study from Danone North America found that plant-based eating is on the rise among multicultural audiences, especially the younger millennial and Gen Z populations.
NACS Daily reported on 11 plant-based and alternative trends that were significant developments in 2021 and what we could see more of 2022. NACS Magazine explored the plant-based trends in “Plant-Based Food Takes Root” in the May 2021 issue.