Tyson Foods sells stake in Beyond Meat

Tyson Foods is no longer an investor in plant-based protein company Beyond Meat.

Roy Graber Headshot
Photo courtesy of Beyond Meat
Photo courtesy of Beyond Meat

Tyson Foods is no longer an investor in plant-based protein company Beyond Meat.

Tyson Foods, through its venture capital arm Tyson Ventures, bought a 5 percent stake in Beyond Meat in 2016 and expanded its investment in 2017.

But rather than investing in another company’s alternative protein products, Tyson Foods has opted to develop its own.

“Tyson Ventures is pleased with the investment in Beyond Meat and has decided the time is right to exit its investment. Beyond Meat provided an early opportunity for Tyson Ventures to invest in plant-based protein products that many consumers are seeking. We wish the leadership of Beyond Meat all the best,” Tyson Foods spokesman Worth Sparkman said in an emailed statement.

Tyson Foods continues to be committed to providing alternative protein as a choice for consumers and recently announced the creation of a new business focused on combining our creativity, scale and resources to make great tasting protein alternatives more accessible for everyone. We plan to launch an alternative protein product soon with market testing anticipated this summer.”

Tyson’s CEO, Noel White, speaking during a quarterly earnings call on February 7, made it known that the company was planning to introduce new alternative protein products in the near future. White said at the time that Tyson Foods would continue to invest in its traditional meat protein businesses, but the company was also “committed to incremental growth in alternative protein.”

“In the weeks ahead, you’ll be hearing more from us as we announce new products in the alternative protein space,” White said.

Beyond Meat IPO

Tyson’s exit comes as Beyond Meat filed an amended initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). With ambitions of investing in current and additional processing plants, research & development, and marketing initiatives, Beyond Meat hopes to raise $183.8 million through the IPO.

Beyond Meat, which first revealed plans for an IPO in 2018, intends to list on the NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker, BYND.  

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