PepsiCo has agreed to buy Chinese online snack company Be & Cheery from Haoxiangni Health Food Co for $705 million.
Based in Hangzhou, Be & Cheery makes products such as nuts, dried fruits, meat snacks, baked goods and confectionery, and predominantly sells online through major e-commerce platforms in China.
Last year, the company reported revenues of approximately CNY 5 billion ($711.1 million)
PepsiCo said Be & Cheery’s data-led innovation capability and flexible manufacturing and sourcing enables it to quickly adjust its product portfolio to respond to changing consumer trends.
“Be & Cheery is highly complementary to our existing China business with its broad product portfolio, asset-light model and focus on e-commerce,” said Ram Krishnan, CEO 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.
“We also expect to leverage Be & Cheery’s innovation and consumer insights capabilities to drive innovation in other key PepsiCo growth markets.”
Haoqun Qiu, chairman of Be & Cheery, added: “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.
“PepsiCo and Be & Cheery are jointly confident in the prospects for China’s snacks industry and share a commitment to invest in consumer-led and digitalised capabilities. We are excited to join forces with them as we look to expand our reach and grow Be & Cheery to the next level.”
Last year, PepsiCo acquired a 26% stake in China-based Natural Food International, which makes a range of products from grains, nuts and beans.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024
