Beyond Meat® Expands Local Production Capabilities in Europe
Beyond Meat, Inc., a leader in plant-based meat, today announced the company’s first co-manufacturing capabilities in Europe with the official opening of the Zandbergen co-manufacturing facility in Zoeterwoude, the Netherlands. The new state-of-the-art facility owned and operated by Zandbergen will produce the Beyond Burger® and Beyond Sausage® and is intended to allow for more efficient distribution of Beyond Meat’s products across EMEA.
Production at the new Zandbergen co-manufacturing facility will also include the upcoming debut of new packaging for both the Beyond Burger and Beyond Sausage available in EMEA. The lighter, more sustainable packaging aligns with Beyond Meat’s commitment to sustainability and will feature fully recyclable trays and 30% less material overall by reducing paper and plastic use.
End-to-end manufacturing
This week, Beyond Meat also marked a milestone with the acquisition of its first manufacturing facility in Europe located in Enschede, the Netherlands. This Beyond Meat owned facility will be the first outside of Missouri, USA to handle Beyond Meat’s innovative approach to texturizing plant proteins, the first step in the company’s manufacturing process. The new Beyond Meat facility is expected to be operational by the end of 2020 allowing for end-to-end manufacturing capabilities in Europe.
“This latest investment in production capacity reflects our continued commitment to serving global markets,” said Ethan Brown, Founder and CEO of Beyond Meat. “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. We are excited to take this next step in bringing the nutritional and environmental benefits of our plant-based meats to the European consumer.”
A linking pin in the protein transition
Chris van Voorden, head of internationalization at InnovationQuarter: “Beyond Meat is a great addition to the Rotterdam – The Hague area. In our role we supported Beyond Meat’s move with among others, connections to local governments, support in the permit process and linking to recruitment service providers. As InnovationQuarter we put an increasing focus on Foreign Investment with a strategic and social impact. We see Beyond Meat as an excellent example of a company not only investing and creating jobs in our region, but also contributing to great societal challenges like the protein transition. We are happy to see that Beyond Meat choose for a cooperation model with Zandbergen for this co-manufacturing facility in our region. Beyond Meat’s decision to expand to Europe via Rotterdam – The Hague area, confirms and strengthens our excellent foreign investment proposition for the protein transition.
“As the demand for plant-based protein and particularly Beyond Meat products grows in Europe and the Middle East, the official opening of this co-manufacturing facility in Zoeterwoude, the Netherlands is timely,” said Adriaan Figee, Chief Commercial Officer of Zandbergen World’s Finest Meat.
The new Zandbergen co-manufacturing facility is expected to have a lighter environmental impact and features the latest in building and production technology.
