Marfrig Global Foods and Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) have entered an agreement to form a joint venture plant-based protein company, PlantPlus Foods.
According to a notice on the Marfrig Global Foods investor relations webpage, Brazil-based Marfrig will hold a 70% stake in PlantPlus Foods, while U.S.-based ADM will hold the remaining 30%.
Marfrig will be responsible for the food production, sale and distribution, using its facilities in Mato Grosso, Brazil, and in Ohio in the United States. ADM will provide technical expertise, application development and a range of plant-based ingredients from its special protein complex in Mato Grosso and its protein unit network in the United States, including its new pea protein plant in Enderlin, North Dakota.
The two companies have already been working together on plant-based protein products, having reached an agreement in August 2019 for the production and sale of vegetable protein-based products in Brazil. Under that agreement, the production of plant-based burgers in Brazil were be launched at Marfrig’s unit in Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso. Part of the plant-based raw materials were shipped directly from ADM’s plant in Campo Grande to Marfrig’s plant.
The existing plant-based products from Marfrig and ADM have included the Rebel Whopper, available at Burger King, and the Aussie Plant Burger, available at Outback Steakhouse in Brazil, and products marketed under the Revolution brand. PlantPlus Foods, according to the Marfrig notice, will enable the expansion of the Marfrig-ADM relationship and the specialization to offer plant-based haburgers, nuggets, cold meats, sausages and other plant-based products.
Operations for PlantPlus Foods will begin once approval has been granted by Brazilian and U.S. regulatory authorities.
Marfrig Global Foods is the second largest beef processor in the world in terms of processing capacity. It is also the former parent company of Keystone Foods, which is now part of Tyson Foods, and Moy Park, now owned by Pilgrim’s Pride.
ADM, according to the Feed Strategy Top Feed Companies rankings, is the fifth largest animal feed producer in the United States.