California-based vegan meat company Beyond Meat has announced the opening of a new production facility in Columbia, Missouri. The new facility will more than triple Beyond Meat’s current manufacturing footprint in order to meet high demand for the company’s products.
“This expansion in our production capacity will help us to meet the considerable increase in market demand we have seen for our new and innovative product offerings,” Mark Nelson, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Beyond Meat, said in a press release.“Our expanded 100,000-sq-ft manufacturing footprint will provide the scale we need to service our rapidly growing retail, foodservice, and international customer base.”
In addition to ramping up production of popular Beyond Meat products like the vegan Beyond Burger and the Beyond Sausage, the company expects that the new production facility will create more than 250 new jobs this year.
“We first came to Missouri in 2009 to access the outstanding research being conducted at the University of Missouri. We have been investing in, and growing together with, Columbia, MO ever since, and I’m pleased to announce this latest manufacturing investment, our largest to date,” said Ethan Brown, chief executive officer and founder of Beyond Meat. “Our expansion not only brings more jobs and opportunity to this special community but also furthers Missouri’s position as a leader in the production of plant-based meat.”
Beyond Meat seems to be making good on last month’s promise to increase production of vegan Beyond Burgers by 200 percent. The new production facility will help the brand support demand for the Beyond Sausage and Beyond Burger as well as new products like the Beyond Breakfast Sausage, which was presented at the National Restaurant Association in Chicago in May.
Additionally, Beyond Meat continues to be a proponent for the environment. The new site will employ water rediculation technologies in order to help the company reduce its water consumption by as much as 80 percent.
With summer grilling season upon us, now seems to be the perfect time for Beyond Meat to unveil its new facility. The Columbia Beyond Meat factory will likely also help the brand in its global expansion effort, which was announced in May.
Image Credit: Beyond Meat
