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Beyond Meat expands at Walmart in new deal

While Walmart (WMT) fights with Oracle (ORCL) to close the deal on TikTok, it has signed off on allowing a full-scale battle for the stomachs of plant-based food eating Americans down its frozen food aisle.

Beyond Meat (BYND) announced Tuesday a new deal with Walmart that will see its distribution at the retailer rise to 2,400 stores from 800 currently. The expansion comes after the plant-based meat seller debuted a value pack at Walmart this summer, when it dubbed its most affordable product yet.

“Walmart has been a terrific partner and we’re excited to strengthen that partnership in depth and breadth as we look to offer more Beyond Meat products at more Walmart locations, furthering our commitment to increasing accessibility of plant-based meat,” said Beyond Meat Chief Growth Officer Chuck Muth in a statement.

Beyond Meat products initially launched at Walmart in 2015. Since then, Beyond Meat has become a public company (May 2019) amid aggressive expansion at restaurants and supermarkets globally. It now sports a market cap of $9.5 billion.

Beyond Meat "Beyond Burger" patties made from plant-based substitutes for meat products sit alongside various packages of ground beef for sale on November 15, 2019 in New York City. - Vegetarian alternatives to burgers and sausages, revived by start-ups like Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger, are enjoying a certain enthusiasm that meat giants also want to enjoy. Since this summer, the world leader in the JBS sector has been marketing a soy burger in Brazil that includes beetroot, garlic and onions, with a look similar to a rare minced steak. In the US, the largest meat producer Tyson Foods launched a new line of products in June based on plants or mixing meat and vegetables. Its competitors Hormel Foods, Perdue Farms or Smithfield, have similar initiatives. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
Beyond Meat "Beyond Burger" patties made from plant-based substitutes for meat products sit alongside various packages of ground beef for sale. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Rival Impossible Foods has also upped its game with the world’s largest retailer of late, too.

The company announced in June its Impossible Burger is now available at 2,100 U.S. Walmart locations.

Seeing as Walmart has about 5,300 U.S. stores, the opportunity for expansion for Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods at the retailer remains strong. If each player could continue to bring down prices for its products to cater to Walmart’s customers, it’s likely offerings from both companies will be available nationwide at the retailer in the not too distant future.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-anchor of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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