Nestlé, the world’s largest food manufacturer through brands such as Hot Pockets, Lean Cuisine and Nespresso, has been steadily expanding its U.S. presence in plant-based products.
Nestlé entered plant based in a big way in 2017 with its acquisition of Sweet Earth. The Switzerland-based food and beverage maker also has created plant-based extensions for popular brands including its Coffee mate and Starbucks creamers, while adding plant-based meat as an option in its DiGiorno Pizza and Stouffer’s Lasagna.
It also announced in 2022 that it’s exploring products using animal-free dairy proteins, beginning with a test launch of chocolate and plain milk-like items containing Perfect Day’s whey protein made through precision fermentation.
The introduction of a milk brings its Natural Bliss brand, known for its connection to dairy through its creamers, into plant-based usage occasions beyond coffee — such as cereal or drinking by itself — that Nestlé previously missed. Even if Natural Bliss Oat Milk doesn’t become a huge revenue producer, it allows Nestlé to grab sales that might otherwise have gone to a competitor while further building the brand’s store presence.
The oat and fava plant-based beverages will launch nationally in grocery stores and mass retailers in the U.S. They will come in two varieties: Natural Bliss Oat Milk Original and Unsweetened. While the label prominently touts the presence of oats, Nestlé chose to incorporate the high-protein fava bean to improve the product’s nutritional profile.
Alicia Enciso, chief marketing officer for Nestlé USA, told Food Dive last year even though plant-based products are “growing at a small pace, it will continue to be extremely important” for the CPG giant.
“Consumers are now requesting for mainstream brands to have plant-based options,” she said. “We have such a broad portfolio that we can really bring very strongly similar options.”
Plant-based milk sales represented 16% of the entire milk category in 2021, according to the most recent data from SPINS, the Plant Based Foods Association and the Good Food Institute.
