Nestlé to Launch Plant-Based ‘Incredible’ Burger
The burger will be the first Big Food foray into the new generation of alternative proteins.
Nestlé SA plans to launch its very own plant-based burger, known as the Incredible Burger. The product, which will be made from soy and wheat protein, should be available under the Swiss food company’s Garden Gourmet label this spring.
Plant-based items currently make up about half of the company’s protein source offerings and include Garden Gourmet veggie burgers and faux chicken nuggets and vegan Haagen Daz ice cream. The new plant-based burger could drive the company’s vegan food sales to $1 billion within 10 years, according to Laurent Freixe, CEO of Nestlé’s Americas region.
Other vegan products the food company is currently developing include purple walnut milk and spirulina lattes.
“While digging deeper into consumer trends, we found they changed a bit in the last couple of years depending on how consumers define a healthy diet,” Nestlé Chief Technology Officer Stefan Palzer told Bloomberg. “Vegetarianism has never been this popular before and it’s here to stay, I’m convinced about that.”
Food Dive reports that Nestlé will be facing major competition as it enters the marketplace, specifically from alternative meat pioneers Impossible Foods, set to enter U.S. grocery stores this year, and Beyond Foods, which will likely soon become the first publicly traded plant-based meat company.
“Both startups have been enjoying solid success to date with their meat-free burgers,” reports the outlet, “and they can’t be expected to appreciate a major rival entering the space.”
The outlet continues to note that this “goes double” for the Impossible Burger, given the similar-sounding name of Nestlé’s new product.
Demand for plant-based foods continues to rise, with the market increasing 62 percent since 2013, according to one July report. A February report from Markets and Markets notes that the meat substitutes market is expected to rise to $6.43 billion by 2023.
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