Nestle has developed a strategic partnership with Canadian companies, Merit Functional Foods and Burcon Nutrascience Corp. to develop plant protein ingredients. Stefan Palzer, Chief Technology Officer for Nestle stated “the partnership with Burcon and Merit will give us access to unique expertise and a new range of high-quality ingredients for plant-based food and beverages.

Burcon Nutrascience is located in Vancouver, B.C. and Merit Functional Foods is in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Both companies hold patents related to processing legumes and Merit Functional Foods operates a manufacturing plant.

The CEO of Nestle, Mark Schneider noted “through acquisitions and innovation Nestle has sought to tap into growing consumer demand for plant-based food.”  He added “Nestle has the ambition and the perseverance to be a major player in this area.”

Multinationals entering the field of plant-protein substitutes for meat represent a challenge to existing U.S. manufacturers including Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger. These relatively small companies have limited research and manufacturing resources compared to multinationals such as Nestle and Cargill.