Beyond Meat Inc.’s shares jumped after the faux-meat maker said it would broaden its product offerings at Walmart Inc.

The maker of plant-based burgers will begin selling a meatless hot Italian sausage at 400 Walmart locations across the U.S. this week, Beyond said Tuesday in a statement. The company, which already sells some products at 2,400 of the retailer’s locations, will also expand its cookout-themed value pack to 500 of the stores.

The expansion of the partnership that began in 2015 underscores the increasing demand for plant-based food, which is showing up in grocery stores and on restaurant menus worldwide. Already gaining traction before the pandemic, the category got a major boost in the supermarket aisles during 2020 as consumers, sometimes unable to find their favorite cuts of meat, increasingly cooked at home.

Beyond shares climbed 4.4 per cent at 9:36 a.m. in New York.