Columbia city officials announced today Tuesday a new plant scheduled to open this fall is expected to bring more than 60 jobs to Columbia in the next five years.
The plant will produce a soy-based chicken substitute marketed by the company Beyond Meat. The technology for the chicken substitute was created by University of Missouri researchers and has garnered national media attention for having the taste and texture of chicken. Ethan Brown is the founder of Beyond Meat. He says the reason he chose to move his facilities to Columbia from Maryland is because of collaboration with the University.
“I’ve always said big companies have research departments and entrepreneurs have universities. There’s no better example of that principle than what we’re doing here today. I plan to keep looking at Mizzou for further innovation,” Brown said.
The company is renovating an existing 16,000 square foot facility on Commerce drive on the north side of Columbia. Brown says he plans on making his company’s products available in Columbia and on the Mizzou campus in the fall.