Global food and beverage giant PepsiCo Inc recently agreed to buy Chinese snack brand Be & Cheery from local jujube maker Haoxiangni Health Food Co Ltd. According to the company, the acquisition will cost PepsiCo about $705mn.
PepsiCo said that the company plans to become China’s leading consumer-focused food and beverage company post the acquisition. Be & Cheery sells snacks from nuts to dried fruits mainly on Chinese e-commerce platforms.
In a media statement, PepsiCo CEO of Greater China, Ram Krishnan said, “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.”
He further added, “We also expect to leverage Be & Cheery’s innovation and consumer insights capabilities to drive innovation in other key PepsiCo growth markets.”
Meanwhile, in a separate company filing, Hangzhou-based Haoxiangni said that it had decided to sell as it wanted to focus on the jujube business.
Founded in 2003, Be & Cheery is one of the largest online snack companies in China and reported revenues of about 5 billion yuan ($711.7 million) in 2019, the companies said.
The companies also added that the transaction is subject to a Haoxiangni shareholder vote, certain regulatory approval and other customary conditions.
