Nestle partners with Israeli startup to make plant-based meat: Report

NESTLE USA - entrance to headquarters building with sign (Source: ShutterStock)

With plant-based products alternatives gaining acceptance, Nestle SA is planning to enter the cultured-meat market, bringing laboratory-made meat to the masses, Bloomberg has reported.

Citing sources, the publication said the meat is being developed for the world's largest food company by Israeli biotechnology company Future Meat Technologies Ltd. Nestle’s chief executive officer Mark Schneider is emphasising on alternative protein strategy as climate and environmental concerns rise among consumers, the report said.

The timing to enter the market is not known and will depend on regulatory approvals, the report added.

The Swiss giant had earlier had committed to spending 3.2 billion Swiss francs ($3.6 billion) over five years to improve its climate footprint. Nestle said the investment will increase the Switzerland-based company's use of renewable energy, which it aims to use exclusively by 2025. The money will also boost what it called regenerative agriculture throughout Nestle's supply chain with the planting of hundreds of millions of trees over the next decade.

The company has already announced the launch of the vegan industry by introducing a version of the iconic KitKat candy bar in select retail stores. It will be available in Britain, where the KitKat was originally developed in York and the research on the vegan version was done but not in the U.S. where the KitKat is produced under a licensing agreement with Hershey's, the company said.

The company said it had launched plant-based alternatives to dairy made from rice, oat, soy, coconut, pea and almonds that are found in its non-dairy ice cream, coffee creamers and other products.

[Inputs from AP]