Feb 25, 2020
According to company’s sources, PepsiCo Inc has agreed to buy Be & Cheery a Chinese snack brand from local jujube maker Haoxiangni Health Food Co Ltd for $705 million.
The U.S. multinational food and beverage maker Pepsico said the decision of Be & Cheery acquisition that deals in snacks from nuts to dried fruits chiefly on Chinese e-commerce platforms, is a major step to become leading consumer-focused F&B Company in 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,” said Ram Krishnan, CEO of PepsiCo Greater China.
“We also expect to leverage Be & Cheery’s innovation and consumer insights capabilities to drive innovation in other key PepsiCo growth markets.”
Haoxiangni, based on the eastern city of Hangzhou, declared in a meeting that the company has decided to sell as it wants to focus its business mainly in Jujube.
Be & Cheery, founded in 2003 is one of the largest online snack companies in China with revenues of about 5 billion yuan ($711.7 million) in 2019.