Mezzan Holding introduces revolutionary beyond Meat products to the Gulf

• A Beyond Burger™ contains more protein than a beef burger, less total and saturated fat, and no GMOs, soy or gluten.
• Producing a Beyond Burger™ requires 99% less water, 93% less land and almost half the energy needed by a meat burger while generating 90% fewer greenhouse gases.
• The Beyond Burger™ delivers the juicy, delicious experience of beef but comes with the added health and environmental benefits of plant-based meat.

Kuwait: Mezzan Holding KSC, one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of food, beverage, and FMCG products in the Gulf, today unveiled the signing of a distribution agreement with Beyond Meat®, a leading LA-based producer of plant-based meat substitutes. Under the agreement, Zandbergen World's Finest Meat will distribute the product to European markets and to Mezzan Holding who will handle the products’ distribution to the Gulf region starting with Kuwait and the UAE.

Mezzan introduced the company’s flagship and best-selling product Beyond Burger™ in supermarkets across Kuwait on Nov 1, 2019, and across restaurants throughout the region on Nov 1, 2019.

The introduction of the Beyond Burger™ into the market follows a successful rise of the product in Australia, Europe, and the United States and the growing interest of a healthier and sustainable alternative to meat.

In-line with changing consumer habits across the world, the Gulf region has witnessed a shift towards entrepreneurs opening local vegan and vegetarian-friendly restaurants frequented even by those who are not part of the plant-based diet. The demand for vegan products is growing quickly in the Middle East and plant-based products are expected to continue to rise in popularity and market share as people become more conscious of what they eat and the trend of socially-conscious diners grows.

Garrett Walsh, CEO of Mezzan Holding said: “Consumer tastes and habits are moving towards healthy options and substitutes in the Gulf. This shift in consumer preference is here to stay and will only grow stronger and wider in the months and years to come. Our partnership with Beyond Meat brings the healthiest and most popular meat substitute to the region so people in the Gulf can join the rest of the world in having great-tasting, guilt-free burgers at home and at restaurants."

The Beyond Burger is made using simple, plant-based ingredients without GMOs, soy or gluten. Peas provide the protein, beetroot provides the meaty red hue, and coconut oil and potato starch offer the mouthwatering juiciness and texture of a traditional burger.

With Mezzan’s strong trade relationships and broad product platforms, the Beyond Burger will be wisely launched and distributed; hitting retail shelves and available for foodservice chains in both Kuwait and the UAE with an expansion plan across the GCC. Following the release of the burger, the company is planning to introduce other products including the Beyond Sausage® in the future.

Zandbergen World’s Finest Meat is an international protein supply chain. It demonstrates sound leadership in the food industry by providing honest, high-quality products that combine animal and plant protein. The company sources chilled and frozen meat and alternative protein solutions from North America, South America, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand to customers in all the European Union (EU) Member States, Switzerland, Norway, and the United Arab Emirates.

For retailers and restaurants interested in carrying the Beyond Burger™, Beyond Meat is distributed in the region by Mezzan Holding KSC.

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About Mezzan Holding:

■ Operates in seven countries through 29 subsidiaries with more than 7,500 employees

■ Distributes over 25,000 Stock Keeping Units (SKU), making it one of the largest operators in terms of SKUs, unit sales, market share and in terms of share of revenues of total consumer spending in consumer categories served by the company

■ Active in various segments of the consumer staple industry supported by long-standing relationships with Johnson & Johnson, Olayan Kimberly-Clark, Reckitt Benckiser, General Mills, Arla Foods, Sara Lee and many other leading brands and manufacturers

■ Serves over 100,000 meals a day in Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE through its catering business

■ Has a total of 130,000 square meters in food, beverage and FMCG manufacturing facilities in Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Afghanistan

■ Leverages long-standing relationships with private and cooperative supermarkets

■ Vertically integrated into complementary business operations, including packaging, catering, contract services and logistics

■ Food services customers include multinational fast food chains, airline catering services and large food services companies.

Mezzan Holding is a 70-year old company that was listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in the second quarter of 2015. The company is headquartered in Kuwait with direct operational activities in Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, and Afghanistan.

About Beyond Meat

Based in Los Angeles, California, Beyond Meat was founded in 2009 with a mission of building meat directly from plants to positively benefit human health, climate change, natural resource conservation, and animal welfare. Championing these values are Beyond Meat’s roster of investors and ambassadors, including Kyrie Irving, Leonardo DiCaprio, Snoop Dogg, Shaquille O’Neal, Jessica Chastain, Lindsey Vonn, Bill Gates and many more.

Spanning frozen and fresh, Beyond Meat’s portfolio of plant-based proteins are sold at more than 30,000 retail and food service outlets worldwide. Beyond Meat, the Beyond Meat logo and Beyond Beef are trademarks or registered trademarks of Beyond Meat, Inc.in the U.S. and in other countries. To stay up to date on the latest, visit www.BeyondMeat.com. 

For more information, please contact:
Fawaz Al-Sirri | +965 66622448 | fawaz@bensirri.com 

© Press Release 2019