Nestlé wants to conquer Asia with plant-based food

Food group Nestlé is responding to the growing demand from Chinese consumers for plant-based products. Under the Harvest Gourmet brand, it markets, among other things, vegetarian burgers, sausages, nuggets and minced meat.

Harvest Gourmet was launched on Wednesday, December 9 at an event in Beijing. The products in the range are intended for both retail and catering. Nestlé has specially opened a vegetable factory for production in Tianjin, a major port city in northern China.

China trendsetter in Asia
The group has the ambition to make plant-based food a part of everyone's daily life. "We see that China is a trendsetter in Asia for a new generation of plant-based foods. Many consumers are looking for healthy alternatives that make a positive contribution to the planet," said Rashid Qureshi, CEO of Nestlé Greater China.

Harvest Gourmet is not new, by the way. products are already available in Australia and are now being rolled out further in Asia, taking local taste preferences into account. Nestlé is already well represented in Europe with plant-based foods under the Garden Gourmet brand. In the United States, similar products are offered under the Sweet Earth label.

Expansion of vegetable range
Its debut in the Asian market follows the sustainability plans which Nestlé revealed 1 week earlier. The food company wants to halve its CO2 emissions in the next 10 years and reach net zero by 2050. As part of this, the range of plant-based products is constantly being expanded. Opportunities for making products more environmentally friendly are also being explored.

Worldwide, Nestlé employs approximately 300 people in the research and development of plant-based products. This involves food scientists, product developers and culinary experts who work together to get the right taste, texture and appearance. Over the past 1,5 years, this has led to new plant-based products such as hamburgers, sausages, minced meat, chicken and tuna. But also plant-based meals, including pizzas and lasagna.

Jeanette Pennings

Jeannet has her roots in the flower bulb sector and she grew up on an agricultural company in the northern part of North Holland. As a generalist she reports for Boerenbusiness across all sectors. She is also exploring the possibilities of sponsored advertising.

j.pennings@boerenbusiness. Nl

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