Nestlé has announced that it is exploring emerging technologies for the development of animal-free dairy protein-based products.
The company said that this move complements investments it has made in plant-based meat and dairy alternative offerings over the years.
These products, it said, are developed “to meet the growing consumer demand for nutritious, more environmentally friendly diets that also taste great”.
Heike Steiling, head of Nestlé’s Development Center for dairy products said: “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, flavor, and texture.”
Nestlé will pilot an animal-free dairy product through its newly established US research and development (R+D) accelerator, bringing it to the US market later this year as a test-and-learn.
The US R+D Accelerator is focused on identifying opportunities and aims to bring highly differentiated product concepts to the market in only six months.
Head of the R+D Accelerator, Joanna Yarbrough, said her team is “excited to pilot Nestlé’s first animal-free dairy protein-based products through [the] US 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,” she said.
Animal-free dairy protein
The product that Nestlé will release will be made with animal-free protein from Perfect Day.
Perfect Day protein is made through precision fermentation, is identical to the whey protein found in cow’s milk and offers nutritional and functionality benefits that are suitable for vegans and lactose-free.
Microflora, which are organisms that aid digestion and nourish trees, are given a precise DNA sequence that serves as a blueprint for how to make whey protein similar to that of a cow.
According to Perfect Day, getting this DNA blueprint requires no animal involvement at all. The company has said that you could think of microflora as “the agricultural animals of tomorrow”.
Perfect Day mixes its microflora in a tank of broth consisting of water, nutrients and sugar. Because the microflora have blueprints, when they ferment the broth, they make a pure ‘animal’ protein. This is then strained and turned into a powder, which can then be used as the basis of dairy-type products.
