PepsiCo has announced the acquisition of direct-to-consumer snacks firm Hangzhou Haomusi Food Co., Ltd, which trades under the name Be & Cheery, for $705 million (€651.2 million).
The China-based firm, which is owned by Haoxiangni Health Food Co., Ltd., produces a range of nuts, dried fruits, meat snacks, baked goods and confectionery products, and conducts most of its sales through e-commerce platforms.
Convenient And Nutritious
“We are thrilled to be joining the PepsiCo family,” commented Haoqun Qiu, Chairman of Be & Cheery. “Be & Cheery was founded to bring more people convenient and nutritious snacks.
"We believe PepsiCo’s strong branding and route-to-market capabilities as well as global supply chain network will help us deliver and expand on that mission."
The transaction is subject to approval by shareholders at Haoxiangni Health Food Co., Ltd., as well as regulatory approval and other related conditions.
'Highly Complementary'
PepsiCo has been operating in China for close to 40 years, and the the company said that this transaction marks an 'important step' in its goal to become China's leading consumer-centric food and beverage company.
“Be & Cheery is highly complementary to our existing China business with its broad product portfolio, asset light model, and focus on e-commerce,” commented Ram Krishnan, chief executive of PepsiCo Greater China.
“As we look to accelerate growth in key markets around the world and further grow ‘in China, for China, with China’, Be & Cheery adds direct-to-consumer capability, positioning us to capitalise on continued growth in e-commerce, and a local brand that is able to stretch across a broad portfolio of products, through both online and offline channels."
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
