Pepsi teams with Beyond Meat - here's why

Today PepsiCo and Beyond Meat teamed up to announce a newly created entity "The PLANeT Partnership, LLC (TPP)." Financial terms of this partnership were not disclosed, and all "joint venture operations" will be managed by the newly created entity. But what in the world would Pepsi want to do working with Beyond Meat?

According to the announcement from PepsiCo, the new joint venture will "develop, produce, and market innovative snack and beverage products made from plant-based protein." So it's not like they're suggesting there was ever any "meat" in a can of Pepsi. This is about ingredients, and the means with which those ingredients are made or attained.

Instead, this venture will "leverage Beyond Meat's leading technology in plant-based protein development" and they'll pair it with PepsiCo's massive brand power. They call that "PepsiCo's world-class marketing and commercial capabilities to create and scale new snack and beverage options."

The new join venture will expand PepsiCo's efforts to build a sustainable food system. They'll aim to expand the company's set of products that are grown and made with net water- and carbon-neutral production plants, regenerative agriculture, and other sustainable systems.

It would appear that PepsiCo and BeyondMeat will continue to exist as separate companies – the "The PLANeT Partnership" will exist as a joint venture between the two. The PepsiCo company of which we speak here is more than just Pepsi drinks – it includes Lay's chips, Tropicana, Quaker, Gatroade, and brands like SodaStream, Bare Snakes, and BFY Brands (makers of PopCorners snacks).

No new products have yet been announced by either company or the joint venture as yet. Cross your fingers we see more sustainably-made versions of your favorite snacks and beverages in the near future!