With growing awareness about our planet’s depleting resources and how we can do more as individuals and as a community of socially and ethically responsible consumers, more and more plant-based ventures have started expanding in this space. What started as a niche category has now become the need of the hour and a booming industry. Switching to a plant-based lifestyle is easier than what it was a few years ago because more companies are launching relevant products in the food industry. This shift in mindset and initiatives has also been driven by higher amounts of venture investments in such initiatives.
Developing and emerging regions such as the Asia Pacific(APAC) region, Africa and Latin America have seen significant investments and demand for plant-based foods. Nowadays, plant-based companies have undertaken comprehensive research and experimentation to come up with plant-based alternatives for a variety of foods.
Here are 5 companies that have started integrating sustainable plant-based food and nutrition products to their lineups through creative and healthy options:
1) Daiya Foods Inc
A subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Daiya Inc is a plant-based producer and supplier with a large presence in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America.
The company aims at manufacturing dairy-free alternatives of popular foods like cheese, yogurts and desserts. It also collaborates with other companies to create unique plant-based foods, which are essentially healthier and more sustainable versions of dairy-based fast foods. This is an important step to suit the habits of the current generation of youngsters while also providing them with nutritious food that doesn’t burden the planet’s resources or harm their health during their formative years.
2) Nestlé S.A.
The Swiss giant is among the most prominent companies out there with lucrative plant-based alternatives to meat, seafood and eggs. In fact, Nestlé has also added plant-based alternatives to some of their most popular brands such as Nesquik chocolate drinks, Nescafe coffee and KitKat chocolate.
Nestlé operates through a group of 29 brands with their Nutrition and Health Science division also taking huge steps to provide plant-based nutritional products.
3) Danone S.A.
Danone S.A. is a French multinational food company that offers plant-based alternatives across 120 countries. According to the company’s website, “Danone is built on four business lines such as Essential Dairy and Plant-Based Products, Early Life Nutrition, Specialized Nutrition, and Waters.”
This Parisian company follows responsible practices to make our planet’s health better through sustainable packaging, plant-based alternatives to dairy and meat, and a lot of research and experimentation to promote innovation in the sustainability sector.
4) Unilever PLC
With its geographic presence across the world, Unilever has expanded its ‘Foods and Refreshment’ category to manufacture and provide plant-based delicacies such as vegan ice cream and plant-based meats.
This British multinational consumer goods company operates its plant-based products through Unilever Food Solutions (UFS). It offers plant-based products to hotels, professional kitchens and vending machine partners like Sodexo in a bid to promote healthy living without compromising on nutrition or quality.
5) Garden Protein International Inc.
This Canadian company manufactures and sells plant-based alternatives to dairy, meat and seafood. Their specialty is using highly-nutritious and sustainable ingredients such as soy, vegetables, wheat and pea proteins, and other ancient grains. The use of these ingredients allows them to help people meet their daily recommended intake of protein through natural and environmentally-responsible foods.
Established under the American parent company of Pinnacle Foods Inc., they sell throughout North America and Europe under the name Gardein, which combines the words Garden+Protein.
Written by Gagan Dhawan
