PepsiCo plans to buy online snacks company Hangzhou Haomusi Food, known as Be & Cheery, for US$705 million from Haoxiangni Health Food as the maker of Doritos and Lay’s potato chips expands in China.
Be & Cheery’s products includes nuts, dried fruits, meat snacks, baked goods, and confectionery items that are sold mainly online through China’s major e-commerce platforms. The deal is subject to a Haoxiangni shareholder vote, certain regulatory approval, and other customary conditions, the companies said in a statement.
“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 capitalize 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.”
“We are pleased to reach the agreement with PepsiCo. PepsiCo is a global leading food and beverage company with deep roots in China, and with its extensive route-to-market and innovation capabilities, PepsiCo can continue to further advance Be & Cheery’s growth. Haoxiangni will focus on developing red dates and local specialty agricultural products in the future. We aim to expand our value chain and supply chain, in the purpose of supporting rural revitalization and achieving win-win outcomes for all,” said Jubin Shi, Chairman of Haoxiangni.
Full Content: PepsiCo
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