Yum China (YUMC) to Unveil Plant-Based Beyond Burger in China
Yum China Holdings, Inc. YUMC recently announced collaboration with Beyond Meat, Inc. BYND to introduce Beyond Burger in China. This plant-based meat burger will be made available for a limited time at select KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell outlets in mainland China, starting Jun 3.
Notably, plant-based meat products have been much in demand across the globe. Before this, KFC and Taco Bell conducted tests of plant-based meat products in China. In April 2020, KFC tested plant-based chicken nuggets at select stores in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, while in December 2019, Taco Bell tested a plant-based pork taco at select stores in Shanghai. The company foresees great potential of plant-based meat products in China.
CEO of Yum China, Joey Wat stated, "This latest introduction across KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands is expected to capture valuable consumer feedback across different regions in China. It will enable us to optimize flavors and processes and help assess the potential for larger scale rollouts in the future."
Innovation to Drive Top Line
Yum China – the largest restaurant operator and sole licensee of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell – depends on continual menu innovation to boost top-line growth. Apart from consumer-preferred food items, the company offers signature menus for the Chinese New Year.
Apart from menu innovation, increased focus on delivery, mobile order and pay, and loyalty membership bodes well. The company is increasingly shifting toward digital and content marketing to expand customer base. This is expected to help the company drive volume and leverage the extensive network to maintain quality.
In first-quarter 2020, delivery contributed 35% to sales, up 16% points from the prior-year period. In the quarter, digital orders accounted for more than 84% of KFC sales and 65% at Pizza Hut.
So far this year, shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company have declined 2.1%, compared with the industry’s 7% fall.
Other Key Picks
Other better-ranked stocks worth considering in the same space include Domino's Pizza, Inc. DPZ and Papa John’s International, Inc. PZZA, both carrying a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Dominos has a three-five year earnings per share growth rate of 12.8%.
Earnings in 2020 for Papa John’s are expected to surge 23.1%.
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Beyond Meat, Inc. (BYND) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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