“Be & Cheery is highly complementary to our existing China business with its broad product portfolio, asset light model, and focus on e-commerce,” said Ram Krishnan, CEO of PepsiCo Greater China. “As we look to accelerate growth in key markets around the world and further grow ‘in China, for China, with 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. We also expect to leverage Be & Cheery’s innovation and consumer insights capabilities to drive innovation in other key PepsiCo growth markets.”

“We are pleased to reach the agreement with PepsiCo. PepsiCo is a global leading food and beverage company with deep roots in China, and with its extensive route-to-market and innovation capabilities, PepsiCo can continue to further advance Be & Cheery’s growth. Haoxiangni will focus on developing red dates and local specialty agricultural products in the future. We aim to expand our value chain and supply chain, in the purpose of supporting rural revitalization and achieving win-win outcomes for all,” said Jubin Shi, Chairman of Haoxiangni.

“We are thrilled to be joining the PepsiCo family,” said Haoqun Qiu, chairman of Be & Cheery. “Be & Cheery was founded to bring more people convenient and nutritious snacks. We believe PepsiCo’s strong branding and route-to-market capabilities as well as global supply chain network will help us deliver and expand on that mission. PepsiCo and Be & Cheery are jointly confident in the prospects for China’s snacks industry and share a commitment to invest in consumer-led and digitalized capabilities. We are excited to join forces with them as we look to expand our reach and grow Be & Cheery to the next level.”

The transaction is subject to a Haoxiangni shareholder vote, certain regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.