JBS closed its Planterra plant-based meat unit 2½ years after launch, cutting 121 jobs

Planterra was the U.S. plant-based meat arm of JBS, set up in March 2020 and selling under the Ozo brand. According to a notice to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, first reported by the Denver Business Journal and reported by Food Dive on 3 October 2022, it would cease operations that year, with an estimated 121 jobs lost at its headquarters and manufacturing facility and a full shutdown by 20 December.

The timing looked abrupt. A week earlier JBS had been promoting a foodservice expansion that put Ozo plant-based bacon on breakfast sandwiches at Gregory's Coffee and Veggie Grill. In June 2022 Ozo had debuted the bacon, in July it became the official plant-based protein of the Chicago Cubs, and earlier in the year it had launched whole cuts and shreds of plant-based chicken and opened an R&D centre at its Colorado headquarters.

JBS has not broken out Planterra's results; the business sat inside JBS Beef North America, which reported a 4.6% year-over-year revenue decline in its latest quarter. Food Dive noted that meat alternatives sold at retailers fell 10.5% in the 52 weeks ended 4 September 2022, according to IRI data cited by Bloomberg.

Plant-based meat sales had been slowing for about a year, with retail meat-alternative sales down 10.5% in the 52 weeks to 4 September 2022.

JBS did not report Planterra's performance separately, so Food Dive could only judge the unit from the outside, where it seemed to be doing well.

JBS said it would concentrate its plant-based efforts in Brazil and Europe, where its businesses were gaining market share, rather than in the United States.

Food Dive called the timing abrupt: the closure notice came a week after a marketing push and with product launches still under way.

A meat giant's brand name lent plant-based meat credibility, but a unit that outsiders thought was doing well could still be cut within days when the category turned.

JBS said it was working with Planterra employees to find jobs at other JBS locations and remained committed to the alternative protein market. Food Dive called the closure an ominous sign for U.S. plant-based meat, alongside Beyond Meat cutting revenue guidance and about 40 jobs, Maple Leaf shrinking its Greenleaf division by 25%, and Kellogg looking to spin off or sell MorningStar Farms.