Nestlé to trial dairy product with animal-free protein

Food giant Nestlé has announced the trial of a novel dairy product made with animal-free protein.

Nestlé will pilot the product through the company's newly established US R+D Accelerator, bringing it to the US market later this year as a test-and-learn.

Developed by Nestlé R&D teams in Switzerland, the product uses animal-free protein from California-based biotech startup Perfect Day, which says the protein, made through precision fermentation, is identical to the whey protein found in cow's milk, offering good nutritional and functionality benefits that is suitable for vegans and is lactose-free.

“We are exploring emerging technologies that can lead to animal-friendly alternatives that are nutritious and sustainable, without compromising on taste, flavor, and texture,” commented Heike Steiling, Head of Nestlé's Development Center for dairy products.

“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 US 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.”