Nestle Plans To Build New Plant-based Food Facility in China Under CHF 100 Million Investment Plan

Even before the Covid-19 outbreak, the Chinese consumers have been steadily shifting to plant-based diets. In the past, the Chinese meat market have been gravely impacted from the African Swine Fever and
aggravating geo-political tension because of U.S - China trade war.

Swiss food giant Nestle which already has 31 production sites in China, announced an additional investment of 730 million yuan (about 102 million U.S. dollars) to expand its manufacturing operations in China to include a new plant-based food facility and widen its production lines.

The production line with a designed annual capacity of 8,000 tonnes will be Nestle’s first of its kind plant-based facility in Asia. The facility would be established in Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) and would be focused on capacity expansion of the company’s existing Purina pet food plant and fund the launch of faux meat products by the end of the year.

Nestle’s opportunistic move came just a few weeks after U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill declared that it would introduce a range of plant-based meat products in China following a successful trial of faux meat nuggets by KFC-owned Yum Brands. Additionally, China’s alternative meat market grew by 33.5% since 2014, according to Euromonitor. It predicts that the industry will be worth $11.9 billion by 2023.

Nestle’s investment in plant-based products is not just a great strategic move but also an excellent ethical move towards the sustainable future of food industry by switching its products to more carbon-efficient products.

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