FMCG major Nestle India on track to launch plant-based protein products

"We will be coal-free by next year and furnace-oil free also in a reasonable amount of time," Suresh Narayanan added

Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Nestle India is on track to launch plant–based protein products in the country.

The company will be launching these products in the coming few quarters, Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director, of Nestle India, told Business Standard on the sidelines of the third annual Pritam Singh Memorial Conference, organised by the Birla Institute of Management Technology.

“I am not looking to launch whole chicken or fish, but products more relevant to the Indian market,” he said while refusing to divulge more details.

Globally in markets including the United States, Latin America, China, South East Asia, and Europe, the Swiss company sells Sensational VUNA, a plant-based alternative to tuna fish; vrimp, plant-based shrimp made from seaweed; and plant-based alternatives to chicken shreds and eggs among others.

 

In India, the company will be competing with other FMCG majors like ITC Foods and Tata Consumer Products for a stake in the market, alongside a host of start-ups like the Virat Kohli-backed Blue Tribe and Imagine Meats.

Narayanan also drew attention to the company’s commitment to sustainability at a press conference earlier at the event, with the theme ‘Reimagining the future of business: The challenges of leadership, digitalisation and sustainability’.

“We plan to start using stubble from rice fields to generate energy for making steam at our Moga factory from the first quarter of next year. This will help reduce stubble burning in the Moga district by 4-5 per cent and will, hopefully, have a positive effect on Delhi's air quality,” he said.

“We will be coal-free by next year and furnace-oil free also in a reasonable amount of time,” he added.

The maker of Munch chocolate and Nescafe coffee has been plastic-neutral for almost three years now, recycling almost 20,000 tonnes of plastic that it uses in packaging, he elaborated.

The company has increased its investments in sustainability by six times, Narayanan had told investors last month after announcing the third-quarter results.

It has also reduced its water usage by 51 per cent and wastewater generation by 38 per cent, he added.

Steady growth

- “India's emerging smart protein industry has a growth opportunity amounting to $4.2 billion by 2030,” stated a report by the Good Food Institute (GFI), released in October this year.

- The country now has over 113 startups across plant-based, fermentation, and cultivated proteins and a network of 100+ companies supporting its growth, said the report.

- Currently, there are a total of 377 products, across 41 formats, and 73 smart protein brands across meat, eggs, and dairy available in retail and e-commerce channels in the country.

- “Between 2016 and April 2023, the sector has seen investment from 34 venture capital funds, 27 angel investors and family offices, two corporates, one investor syndicate, and three grant-provisioning organisations,” the report said.

- GFI is the central expert organisation, thought leader, and convening body in the alternative protein sector launched its first-ever State of the Industry Report on smart protein in India.