Beyond Meat (BYND -0.47%) is about to make a big leap across the Pacific Ocean. The company announced that it is dramatically increasing its presence in China, and will introduce its plant-based burgers in Yum China Holdings' (YUMC 0.92%) KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell locations.
The fake-meat specialist told Bloomberg in an email, "[w]e're proud to expand our partnership with KFC into China, one of their largest markets worldwide, as well as introduce a new partnership with Pizza Hut in China."
Image source: Beyond Meat.
In a press release, Yum China said Beyond Meat's Beyond Burger would be introduced at certain KFC and Pizza Hut locations for limited runs starting Wednesday, June 3. That menu item will also be available at some outlets of Taco Bell.
This represents a quick one-two punch in the country for Beyond Meat, which agreed to a deal with mighty Starbucks (SBUX 1.09%) to supply plant-based products for its Chinese cafes, along with peer Oatly. As with the new Yum China arrangement, financial details of the Starbucks deal were not provided when it was announced in late April.
On Friday, Beyond Meat shares rose by a robust 6.2%. That was a better performance than many consumer goods stocks on the day, including partners Yum China and Starbucks, and it well exceeded the cautious gains of the wider equities market.
