Nestlé explores dairy-free protein market with latest product development plans
pic: Nestle
Nestlé has confirmed a major drive exploring dairy-free protein-based products, which holds considerable potential across product categories, including snacks and confectionery ranges, writes Neill Barston.
As the company noted, the move complements investments it has undertaken in plant-based meat and dairy alternative offerings to meet the growing consumer demand for nutritious, more environmentally friendly diets.
The past few years have seen an explosion in the number of dairy-free, vegan certified offerings that have been brought to market – including with confectionery and snacks, which Nestle appears set to develop for across its markets, including the US region.
Nestlé will pilot a novel product through the company’s newly established U.S. R+D Accelerator, bringing it to the U.S. market later this year as a test-and-learn exercise.
The product is made with animal-free protein from Perfect Day. According to Perfect Day, the protein, made through precision fermentation, is identical to the whey protein found in cow’s milk, offers good nutritional and functionality benefits that is suitable for vegans and is lactose-free.
The product was developed by Nestlé R&D teams in Switzerland. With expertise in both great-tasting nutritious dairy and plant-based dairy alternatives, Nestlé offers a broad package of solutions, boosted by collaboration with start-ups and other external partners.
Heike Steiling, Head of Nestlé’s Development Centre for dairy products: “As the world’s largest food and beverage company, delivering foods and beverages that are good for people and the planet is a priority. We are exploring emerging technologies that can lead to animal-friendly alternatives that are nutritious and sustainable, without compromising on taste, flavour, and texture. Bringing together our unmatched R&D expertise, innovation capabilities and scale, we are working to develop and test novel animal-free dairy protein-based products to complement our wide-ranging portfolio of plant-based alternatives.”
The recently created U.S. R+D Accelerator is focused on identifying opportunities and aims to bring highly differentiated product concepts to the market in only six months.
“We are excited to pilot Nestlé’s first animal-free dairy protein-based products through our U.S. R+D Accelerator,” said Joanna Yarbrough, head of the R+D Accelerator. “While this category is still very young, we know consumers are looking for products that have a reduced environmental footprint, and we are evaluating this avenue as a future growth opportunity for our business.”
Dairy products remain an important part of Nestlé’s portfolio and provide essential nutrients, especially for young children, while milk production contributes to the economic livelihoods of farmers globally. Therefore, Nestlé continues to explore solutions and technologies to make dairy more climate friendly.
Through investing in initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of dairy, launching more plant-based dairy alternatives, while exploring emerging technologies for animal-free dairy proteins, Nestlé will be able to transform its portfolio as a part of its broader commitment to provide food that’s good for people and the planet.