Beyond Meat Sticks to Plans for an Asian Facility Despite Coronavirus Concerns

Coronavirus may be putting millions into a panic across the world but alternative meat producer Beyond Meat is not
letting it stop the company from expanding in Asia.

The company is maintaining its plans to open a production facility in the continent despite the outbreak.

Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown confirmed the news in a CNBC “Mad Money” interview on Monday, stating, “Right now is a moment in time for us. It’s an opportunity for hyper growth, so I’m looking very seriously to Asia.”

Brown said, “I made a commitment that we’re going to be producing in Asia by the end of this year. We’ll do that regardless of, I think, of this health epidemic occurring right now.” He added, “We have to be active in China, regardless of what’s going on.”

The company already sells its alternative meat products in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan and sees China as a big opportunity given its large economy. The country’s pork supply was also impacted due to the African swine fever and pork prices were more than double at the end of last year.

“I came out of the fuel-cell industry. If there had been a disruption to the internal combustion engine manufacturing infrastructure where 25% disappeared overnight, we’d be going bananas trying to leapfrog and put hydrogen or electric drive technology in its place,” Brown said during the interview. “That’s our opportunity right now. We have to be active in China, regardless of what’s going on” with the novel virus epidemic.

“I am very similar to what Amazon did in terms of reinvesting and continuing to grow,” he added.

Beyond Meat recently reported its fourth quarter financial results revealing a sales beat. The company reported $98.5 million compared to the $81.2 million expected. It did miss on earnings, reporting a 1 cent loss per share while analysts were waiting for a profit of 1 cent per share.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND) and have not been compensated for this article.