Beyond Meat opens meat substitute production in China

Manufacturer of plant-based MEAT substitute products BEYOND MEAT Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND) is ready to start major work in CHINA. The company's facility began production in the Jiaxing Economic and Technological Development Zone (JXEDZ) near Shanghai.

The Jiaxing facility will be the first plant-based Beyond Meat facility outside the United States . it will allow the company to increase the speed and efficiency of production for the Chinese market while reducing costs. The opening of production in China will allow Beyond Meat to use local supply chains, which means being closer to consumers. China is one of the largest markets, accounting for 27% of global meat consumption, or about 74 million tons per year. Of this volume, about half is traditionally occupied by pork. That is why Beyond Meat has developed products specifically for China that imitate this type of meat.

It should be noted that in the US, Beyond Meat has a wide partner network, including the largest supermarkets Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT). In addition, Beyond Meat is partnering with McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD), PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) and YUM! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM). In total, Beyond Meat products are sold at more than 28,000 US outlets.

In China, though, Beyond Meat will face some serious competition almost immediately: IMPOSSIBLE FOODS has also announced its intention to sell its pork-imitation products in that market. Moreover, both companies are likely to need strong marketing support to change the Chinese people's preferences and encourage them to consume plant-based alternatives to meat.

At auction on April 8, BYND was worth $134.87.