Tyson Foods has acquired a 5% stake in Beyond Meat, a Los Angeles-based producer of plant-based meat substitutes.
The investment was provided via a fundraising initiative by Beyond Meat. It will provide additional capital to help the company extend its product portfolio and distribution.
Beyond Meat will remain an independent, privately held firm led by founder and CEO Ethan Brown.
Brown said: “This investment by Tyson Foods underscores the growing market for plant protein.
“I’m pleased to welcome Tyson as an investor and look forward to leveraging this support to broaden availability of plant protein choices to consumers.”
Under the fund raising program, Beyond Meat could raise funds from the Humane Society of the United States, Bill Gates and Kleiner Perkins.
Tyson Foods Strategy and New Ventures executive vice president & Foodservice president Monica McGurk said: “We’re enthusiastic about this investment, which gives us exposure to a fast-growing segment of the protein market.
“It meets our desire to offer consumers choices and to consider how we can serve an ever-growing and diverse global population, while remaining focused on our core prepared foods and animal protein businesses.”
Financial details of the investment have not been disclosed.
Beyond Meat which was started back in 2012, now sells its products across 7500 stores in the US.
This move of Tyson Foods is being seen as an attempt to tap into the growing vegan and organic market in the US.
