Banza has emerged as a significant player in the growing trend of plant-based foods. To strengthen its position, the company has formed partnerships with well-known brands like Beyond Meat and Danone’s Follow Your Heart, leveraging their expertise and brand recognition to enhance Banza’s product offerings. Banza has built a reputation as a leader in chickpea-based products that are both simple and accessible, such as macaroni and cheese, pasta, rice, and pizza crusts.
In addition to developing its own products, Banza has broadened its reach through collaborations with companies like Nestlé. Earlier this year, Nestlé announced plans to incorporate Banza’s chickpea pasta into two of its latest Life Cuisine offerings. With the introduction of new Banza pizzas, the company is now directly competing with Nestlé in the pizza segment. Nestlé not only owns traditional frozen pizza brands like Tombstone and DiGiorno but also offers plant-based options through its Sweet Earth brand, which includes pizzas featuring faux chicken, bacon, and pepperoni.
Although Banza is taking on larger food corporations, it has the advantage of catering to consumers who are interested in innovative products that align with their health, social, and environmental goals. Banza’s pizzas, launched in October 2020, come in four varieties: Four Cheese, Margherita, Roasted Veggie, and Plain Crust. Within less than a year of hitting the market, the brand has expanded its retail presence by over 300%, according to company reports. While the pizzas are performing well, Banza recognized the need for a meat-like alternative to further broaden its appeal. As more consumers seek options that are beneficial for their health and the environment, incorporating Beyond Meat’s plant-based meat and Follow Your Heart’s dairy alternatives into its recipes allows Banza to address these demands, as faux meat is associated with improved personal and environmental health.
Banza’s pizza presents a unique opportunity for Beyond Meat and Danone’s Follow Your Heart to integrate their ingredients into Banza’s offerings. This collaboration not only generates revenue for their products but also raises consumer awareness about the versatility of their ingredients. Prepared pizzas have gained popularity, particularly as consumers have spent more time at home during the pandemic, leading to an increased demand for frozen foods. Simultaneously, the image of this product category is evolving to better align with the qualities consumers desire.
From Caulipower’s cauliflower pizza to Foster Farms’ chicken-crusted pizza, the market has seen a diverse range of unconventional crust options that cater to various dietary trends. Banza’s chickpea products only add to this growing list, offering delightful examples of how innovative ingredients can meet consumer needs. Additionally, there are examples of calcium citrate being utilized in various food products, which could further enhance the nutritional profile of Banza’s offerings, making them even more appealing to health-conscious consumers.