Beyond Meat names Tyson’s Ramsey new COO
The US meat-alternatives supplier has also hired another Tyson Foods veteran to a new role of chief supply chain officer.
Beyond Meat has recruited two Tyson Foods veterans to senior positions at the US meat-alternatives supplier, which has seen pressure on its domestic sales in recent months.
Doug Ramsey and Bernie Adcock, who have both worked at Tyson for 30 years, are joining Beyond Meat as COO and chief supply chain officer respectively.
Ramsey, whose recent roles at Tyson include president of the US meat giant’s poultry operations and president of its business with McDonald’s, replaces Sanjay Shah as COO. It was announced in September that Shah, a former Tesla and Amazon executive, had left Beyond Meat after less than two years in the job.
Adcock, most recently Tyson’s chief supply chain officer, joins Beyond Meat in the same position and takes what is a new role at the Beyond Burger maker.
Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat’s founder and CEO, said: “Doug and Bernie bring a proven track record of impressive operational excellence in the protein industry that our global partners, customers, and consumers expect and deserve.
“As we’ve made clear, we are investing today in tomorrow’s growth, whether by adding to our best-in-class management team or by building out operations around the world, to advance our vision of being the global protein company of the future.”
In October, Beyond Meat downgraded its expectations for third-quarter sales, citing the impact of the pandemic, problems with distributors and customer labour shortages.
The company’s third quarter, which ran to 2 October, ended up showing declining sales in the US, although international sales did grow.
Third-quarter revenues in the US fell 13.9% to $67.5m, with retail down 15.6% and foodservice minus 7.3%. Founder and CEO Ethan Brown said Beyond Meat faced challenges from an uptick in Covid-19, labour shortages and supply chain constraints, and “highly variable demand”.
Brown suggested at the time the decrease was down to a “pause” in consumer demand rather than any structural issue in the appetite for meat-free.
During a follow-up call with analysts, he said: “There’s no indication in my view that coming off of a record quarter of revenue in the second quarter to this quarter that there’s some fundamental change in the consumer mindset toward our products.
“I don’t think there’s any sector issue or any segment issue. We continue to see strong year-over-year growth in terms of overall annual revenue. And if you look at 2022 and the work we’re doing there, I think there’s tremendous excitement in our company about what’s coming.
“And so this is a bit of a kind of the pause. And had the pandemic and labour issues and supply chain stuff not interfered, I think this quarter would have been quite different.”
Earlier in November, Beyond Meat rival Maple Leaf Foods, the owner of the Lightlife and Field Roast Grain Meat Co. brands, pointed to “a marked slowdown” in the category in the US (citing pressure in the refrigerated segment) – and said it was putting its dedicated division under review.
Just Food opinion, November 2021: Beyond Meat sales add to alt-meat misgivings
MeatEx Canada-2022 is around the corner
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Second Edition of Agritech Agrochemical Exhibition in Ghana
|
|
|
Spend 4 days in the heart of the world forum for sustainable livestock farming
This 4, 5, 6 and 7 October, the SOMMET DE L'ELEVAGE will open its doors in Clermont-Ferrand (France) to an expected 100,000 visitors. Awaiting them will be 1,500 exhibitors and 2,000 animals on show and a packed programme.
For this 31st edition, the SOMMET offers many highlights such as:
- National Championship for the Charolais breed,
- European Championship for the Simmental breed,
- European Congress for the Hereford breed,
- The “Sommets d'Or” technical innovation competition,
- 100 conferences covering all the latest hot topics in agriculture,
- 30 farm visits,
- Many festive and convivial evenings...
and a VIP welcome for international press and visitors!
Do not hesitate! Come and join us for a press tour in the heart of Europe's largest grassland area to discover an exceptional showcase of the French know-how in terms of livestock production and the latest in farm machinery, equipment, and services for the entire farm industry, and most specifically the livestock industry.
|
|
||
|
New Zealand’s A2 Milk Co. thwarted in plan to export infant-formula to US
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told A2 Milk it is deferring further consideration of the company’s request.
By Andy Coyne
Plans by New Zealand dairy firm A2 Milk Co. to export infant-formula to the US to help alleviate a shortage have been put on hold by the American regulator.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told A2 Milk that it is deferring further consideration of the company’s request to export its infant-formula products into the US.
In a statement, A2 Milk confirmed it had received the FDA’s notification and added: “The company has also subsequently been advised by the [US-based trade group] International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) that equivalent letters have been sent to all pending enforcement discretion applicants, indicating that the FDA is deferring any further review at this time of all pending applications.”
Fellow New Zealand dairy major Fonterra, meanwhile, told media outlets that it has not received a similar notification from the FDA. It too is seeking to export product to the US.
An FDA spokesperson told news agency Reuters that it had sent letters to some firms deferring further reviews of applications due to a list of issues but that this does not mean the infant formulas are unsafe.
The suspension of production at an Abbott Laboratories facility in February following consumer complaints related to Cronobacter sakazakii or Salmonella illness from the consumption of baby powders made at the plant, led to a shortage of infant-formula products on supermarket shelves in the first half of this year.
President Joe Biden enacted the Defense Protection Act in May to prioritise local production and launched Operation Fly Formula to bring in emergency supplies from overseas. The FDA put in place a so-called temporary enforcement discretion order to boost imports, subject to regulatory and health checks.
Companies including Nestle, Danone and Bubs Australia are amongst those to send supplies from overseas to help tackle the domestic shortfall.
The FDA had said it planned to open up the market permanently to both overseas and domestic players beyond 14 November when the temporary decree expires.