Nestlé Plans to Launch Vegan Chicken, Sausage, and Bacon 

Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider is working to develop a number of vegan meat products. Earlier this year, Nestlé debuted its vegan Incredible Burger in Europe through a partnership with McDonald’s Germany—which serves it as The Big Vegan TS burger. “The whole notion of giving consumers a choice when it comes to plant-based alternatives is going to be a key theme going forward,” Schneider told MarketWatch. “We’re talking about a pretty significant mega-trend. It’s not only limited to plant-based burgers. We have plant-based chicken products, and we’re working on a whole lot of other formats, including even sausages and bacon.” This fall, Nestlé will launch the vegan Awesome Burger under its Sweet Earth brand in the United States. In April, animal-rights group Compassion Over Killing (COK) released harrowing undercover footage that revealed rampant animal abuse at Pennsylvania-based Martin Farms, a supplier of the Nestlé-owned Dreyer’s ice cream brand which prompted the company to develop more vegan meat products. “Nestlé is feeling the heat after hearing from 20,000 consumers who signed a petition following Compassion Over Killing’s recent investigation—and told COK that it’s responding by growing its vegan meat portfolio,” Laura Cascada, COK Senior Director of Campaigns & Outreach, told VegNews. “But millions of cows are still being subjected to painful horn removal in its supply chain, and to be a true food leader, the food giant must address this abuse and churn out vegan options for all its dairy brands.”