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International food giant Nestlé is getting serious about its push into the plant-based protein race.
Through its brand Sweet Earth, Nestlé will be launching the Awesome Burger and Awesome Grounds, plant-based ground meat, across retailers in the U.S. starting this week and ramp up distribution in the coming weeks.
Nestlé acquired Sweet Earth in 2017, and while the Moss Landing, California–based company isn’t new to the plant-based foods trend, the Awesome Burger is its first attempt to create something that mimics a beef burger.
The Awesome Burger is made with yellow pea protein, which the company says is extremely protein dense. (Rival Beyond Meat (BYND) burgers are also made of pea protein isolate.) Though the Awesome Burger is GMO free, soy free and vegan, it is not gluten free. It will be available in the fresh meat aisles at grocery stores like Ralphs, Fred Meyer and Safeway. Sweet Earth co-founder Kelly Swette told Yahoo Finance that it is working to get the Awesome Burger in Amazon-owned Whole Foods stores soon.
Nestlé has been selling a soy and wheat based veggie burger in Europe since April through its Garden Gourmet brand, but the company has long been eyeing its entry into the U.S. market. Nestlé’s Sweet brand aims to deliver the taste and texture of beef yet offer a higher nutritional value without harming the environment or animals.
Production capacity
Nestlé is the largest food company in the world, so Sweet Earth is able to tap into Nestlé’s enormous production capability to meet the intense alternative-protein demand as of late. “One of the things that is super beneficial to our company is we have 140 years of experience behind us with Nestlé,” Sweet Earth co-founder Brian Swette said on YFi AM. “So they have the supply chain, the procurement, the manufacturing expertise that helps us ensure that we can get a great product in a consistent way to all of our customers.”
Despite being owned by a large food company, Kelly Swette explained that Sweet Earth is able to operate independently and even has its own culinary innovation team. She, along with three other people, conceive and produce the Sweet Earth’s products.
As the plant-based meat craze catches fire mainstream, many people are questioning its health benefits and nutritional value. Some argue that fake meat burgers are too processed to be considered healthy. “Better is better,” Kelly Swette told Yahoo Finance. “If you take a look at some of the nutritional aspects, it’s got 26 grams of protein. A hamburger has 19 [grams of protein]. It’s got 6 grams of fiber. Meat [has zero].” Brian Swette added that only about 5% of the population gets sufficient amounts of fiber.