Nestlé explores emerging technologies for animal-free dairy proteins

Nestlé is exploring emerging technologies for the development of animal-free dairy protein-based products.

The move complements investments the company has made in plant-based meat and dairy alternative offerings over the years to meet the growing consumer demand for nutritious, more environmentally friendly diets that also taste great.

Nestlé will pilot a novel product through the company’s newly established U.S. R+D Accelerator, bringing it to the US market later this year as a test-and-learn project. 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 is well-equipped to deliver a relevant consumer solution in this emerging space in collaboration with start-ups and other external partners.

Heike Steiling, head of Nestlé’s development center for dairy products said Nestlé is 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,” Steiling said.

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.”

Read more about the Nestlé R+D Accelerator.

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