Nestle S A : Food for thought? Nestle taps students and startups in R&D drive
August 30, 2021 at 03:12 pm
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LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Food group Nestle inaugurated the biggest site for its "R&D Accelerator" programme on Monday, aiming to work with startups and students to speed the development of new products.
The food industry has to be nimble to keep pace with consumers increasingly concerned about their health and the planet, who want to eat products with less meat, salt, sugar and fat, and made from natural, locally sourced ingredients.
Launched in 2019, Nestle's R&D Accelerator programme has 12 sites in eight countries so far. The site inaugurated on Monday, in the Swiss city of Lausanne, can host 20 projects per year.
A group of food technology students there presented their "tempeh", dim sum made from fermented soybeans, while employees showed off an energy drink made from olive leaf powder.
"Many trends are created by startups, they were behind the first plant-based products," Nestle's Chief Technology Officer Stefan Palzer told reporters. "If our people work with them, it creates an innovation culture, it's contagious."
(Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by Pravin Char)
Nestlé S.A. is the world's leading agri-food group. Net sales break down by category of products as follows:
- powdered and liquid beverages (26.7%): soluble coffees (Nescafé and Starbucks brands), coffee in capsules (Nespresso), chocolate drinks (Nesquik, Milo, etc.), tea drinks (Nestea), etc.;
- pet food (20.3%): brands such as Purina, Friskies, Felix, etc.;
- pharmaceutical, nutrition and well-being products (16.4%): nutritional supplements (Resource, Boost, Nutren, Optifast, Peptamen brands, etc.), infant and maternal nutrition products (NAN, illuma, Cerelac, Nido, Gerber), ketogenic beverages (BrainXpert), (Nesquick, Fitness, Cheerios, Lion, etc.), etc.;
- ready meals and seasoning products (12.5%): frozen and chilled dishes (Lean Cuisine, Hot Pockets and Stouffer's brands), soups (Maggi), etc.;
- dairy products and ice cream (11.8%): powdered milk, sweetened condensed milk, yoghurt and cream desserts, ice cream (Nido, Nesvita, Carnation, La Laitière, Coffee Mate, Nestlé Ice Cream, Dreyers, Häagen-Dazs, Extrême brands, etc.);
- chocolates, sweets and biscuits (8.7%): Kit Kat, Smarties, Cailler, Terrafertil, etc. brands;
- bottled waters (3.6%): Nestlé Pure Life, Vittel, Perrier, S. Pellegrino, etc. brands.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: Switzerland (1.2%), France (3.8%), the United Kingdom (3.8%), Germany (2.4%), Europe (12.8%), the United States and Canada (35%), China (5.9%), Asia and Oceania (21.4%) and Latin America (13.7%).