EU’s Poultry Giant Adds “Alternative Protein” Department

Meat brand PHW Group—the largest producer of chicken, duck, and turkey in the European Union—recently created a department dedicated to developing and investing in “alternative sources of protein.” The new department will be helmed by financial analyst Marcus Keitzer, who previously helped the company diversify its portfolio to include plant-based and clean-meat products. “We have decided to appoint Marcus Keitzer to our board not only because of his excellent technical skills, strategic competence, and human integrity,” PHW CEO Peter Wesjohann said, “but also to give special emphasis to the field of alternative sources of protein both in-house and externally.” In January, PHW was one of the leading investors in a $3 million raised by SuperMeat—an Israel-based company producing clean meat, animal meat created from a small amount of cells in a lab-setting. In April, PHW partnered with California-based Beyond Meat to help distribute its plant-based products, including the Beyond Burger, in Germany. Stateside, meat giant Tyson launched Tyson New Ventures (TNV) in 2016—a $150 million investment fund dedicated to diversifying Tyson’s portfolio with meat-free investments. TNV currently holds a stake in Beyond Meat, and clean meat startups Future Meat Technologies and Memphis Meats.