What happened
Shares of Beyond Meat (BYND 6.58%) declined by 8% on Thursday. On a day when the major stock indexes suffered brutal losses, the plant-based food leader made moves to advance its beachhead in Europe.
So what
Rising COVID-19 case counts helped to drive the U.S. stock markets sharply lower. Many restaurant stocks -- some of which are key partners for Beyond Meat -- were hit particularly hard. This likely explains much of Beyond Meat's losses on Thursday.
However, Beyond Meat also made some notable announcements on Thursday. First, it entered into a comanufacturing agreement with Zandbergen World's Finest Meat. Zandbergen will operate a new facility in the Netherlands that will make the Beyond Burger and Beyond Sausage. Beyond Meat says the facility will also strengthen its distribution capabilities throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Beyond Meat continues to expand its plant-based empire. Image source: Getty Images.
Secondly, Beyond Meat said it acquired a manufacturing facility in the Netherlands that will texturize plant proteins. It will be the first such facility that Beyond Meat owns outside its operations in the U.S. Management said the new facility will be operational by the end of the year.
"This latest investment in production capacity reflects our continued commitment to serving global markets," Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown said in a press release. "Our new facility in Enschede will not only bring production closer to the consumer, representing an investment in the markets and communities we serve, but is expected to allow us to leverage local supply chains, improving our cost structure and sustainability of operations."
Now what
Beyond Meat has struck a number of recent deals to further its growth strategy. Just days ago, it entered into a strategic partnership with food distributor Sinodis to fortify its distribution network in China. "Our goal is to increase availability of plant-based meat globally, providing consumers with more choices, and access to nutritional and environmental benefits of plant-based meat," Beyond Meat's chief growth officer Chuck Muth said at the time.
Judging by its recent moves, Beyond Meat certainly has global ambitions. If it can fulfill them, investors could be well rewarded.
