Nestle India is creating plant-based alternative protein products for the Indian market that are recognisable as Indian in flavour, culture, and texture. However, the corporation believes that the goal of replacing dairy protein with plant-based protein is immoral.
“Nestle is taking a major interest in the field of alternative proteins and plant-based proteins. We have 12 RnD accelerator centres across the world that create plant-based protein innovations that can be effectively scaled out in terms of applicable goods. One of them is based in Manesar, India. It is a facility that supplies India with vital capabilities,” Nestle India chairman Suresh Narayanan remarked. He was speaking as the keynote speaker at the Good Food Institute India’s Smart Protein Summit.
“The dilemma for me is not whether to produce another burger, but rather whether to create a product that is acceptable to Indian tastes while still meeting my protein requirements,” he added.
Nestle would consider tailoring goods to Indian tastes. “Creating a burger with an almost meat-like taste and texture is an opportunity for me,” he says. However, I think a greater opportunity for me is to build a protein-based product that will be known in terms of taste, culture, and texture because food is extremely local. Nestle, on the other hand, desires synergies in both the dairy and alternative protein segments.
As the world’s top milk producer, any approach that advocates replacing milk with plant-based protein is neither feasible nor socially ethical. “Helping farmers improve their agricultural and feed practises is a better approach to alleviating the situation than eliminating it,” said Narayanan.
Nestle has stated that it is closely examining ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its dairy operations. “We are also looking at plant derivatives, such as a pea-based drink in Europe, coffee creamers, and ice creams that have been launched across some parts of Nestle World,” Narayanan explained, adding, “The intention of alternate proteins is not to run farmers to the ground, nor to eliminate dairy and dairy technology.” This is a farming country, and we must recognise that present technologies will continue to play a role. The issue is not one of abolition, but of feeding 1.3 billion people. “
Nestle India’s CEO has urged the establishment of “protein clusters” in the nation.
“Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Punjab are the leading producers of pulses and milk.” In the first step, he stated, we need to construct protein clusters involving farmers, the government, research institutions, and commercial entities so that the food processing sectors can join together around these clusters to develop technologies to make plant-based protein products.
Narayanan stated that for alternative protein products to become truly mass-market items, there is a need to shift the perception that smart protein is not only for ethically conscious individuals who are concerned about global warming, but that it is also an economic imperative. “The transformation of alternative proteins in India will occur when it becomes popular and