In 2017, Nestlé acquired the independently owned plant-based brand, Sweet Earth. But today, the brand is nowhere to be found. What happened?
Let’s rewind. Sweet Earth started in the 1970s as a small, local fresh-food company in Northern California. It was originally founded by Caren Hicks, who specialized in vegetarian meals such as hearty soups and sandwiches. Hicks ran the company for more than three decades before entrepreneurs Kelly and Brian Swette acquired the trademark in 2011, eager to take the Sweet Earth name to the next level.
“We purchased Sweet Earth with the vision of trying to create a mainstream plant-based company,” Brian told Just Food back in 2016. “We both had interests in sustainability, and with Kelly’s love of food and nutrition we decided to try to do something in this area. We are a mission-driven company. We understand that our mission is only as good as our commercial success, so we are intent on leading the charge to build a successful company.”
Under the Swette’s leadership, Sweet Earth’s products quickly attracted a loyal following, and by the time Nestlé acquired the brand, it had built a portfolio of globally inspired, whole-food-based vegetarian products, including frozen burritos, seitan, tofu, and plant-based burgers. These products were sold in more than 10,000 stores across the US.
We were big fans. In 2018, VegNews editors named Sweet Earth’s Veggie Lovers Pizza, complete with cauliflower sauce and Follow Your Heart vegan cheese, one of our favorite new vegan products of the year. In 2023, VegNews readers voted its Benevolent Bacon the Best Vegan Bacon in the country. And for good reason—it delivered just the right balance of smoky, chewy, and crispy. “I legit want to cry every time I think about it,” wrote one Reddit user in r/vegan after learning that the product had been discontinued in 2023.
Another added: “That was really the best tasting, high-protein vegan bacon I could find in stores. Fried in vegan butter, it was quite delicious in a breakfast burrito or on a burger.”
Nestlé’s deteriorating plant-based portfolio
Today, it isn’t just Benevolent Bacon that is missing. The entire Sweet Earth product line appears to have disappeared. Alarm bells began ringing in 2022 when Nestlé announced it was closing the California facility that manufactured the brand’s plant-based meals, and moving production to Ohio.
But now, after more than four decades, Sweet Earth appears to be inactive. Its Instagram account is empty, and its former website redirects to Nestlé’s homepage. Over the last few years, Nestlé has significantly scaled back its plant-based portfolio, with Sweet Earth appearing to be a major casualty. VegNews has reached out to Nestlé multiple times on the fate of Sweet Earth, but has never heard back.
But Sweet Earth isn’t alone. Several vegan products and brands have come and gone from Nestlé’s portfolio in recent years. In 2022, the company rolled out dairy-free versions of KitKat in 15 European countries. In 2025, however, it pulled the plug on the popular chocolate bar. According to a spokesperson, declining “global demand” and “complex” manufacturing were behind the decision.
That same year, Nestlé launched Cowabunga, an animal-free dairy brand. In 2021, it also unveiled a pea-based milk brand called Wunda. Both have since been discontinued.
What plant-based products are left at Nestlé?
While Nestlé’s plant-based portfolio is considerably smaller than it once was, the company still manufactures several vegan products. Here, we take a look at some of its most popular offerings, from Garden of Life to Garden Gourmet.
Garden of Life
Garden of Life makes it easy to find vegan, organic supplements
Organic supplement brand Garden of Life is known for using real, whole-food ingredients rather than synthetic alternatives. While the Nestlé-owned brand isn’t entirely vegan, many of its products are plant-based. In fact, more than 120 vegan products are available from the brand. Here are some of our top Garden of Life picks:
- Raw Organic Protein (packed with 22 grams of protein and flavored with vanilla)
- Vitamin Code Raw Vitamin C (packed with 500 milligrams of raw vitamin C and bioflavonoids)
- mykind Organics Women’s Once Daily (a whole-food multivitamin from Alicia Silverstone’s range—and the entire line is vegan)
- mykind Organics Organic Plant Collagen Builder (collagen supplements often come from animals, but this one utilizes 30 organic fruits, vegetables, and botanicals)
- Vitamin Code Raw B-Complex (a high-potency formula packed with those all-important B vitamins)
Coffee-Mate
Coffee-Mate and Natural Bliss make dairy-free creamers
Most of Nestlé’s creamer brand, Coffee-Mate, is lactose-free, but it isn’t vegan due to the presence of a small amount of milk protein. However, there are a handful of plant-based options from the brand, including its Oat Milk Vanilla Coffee Creamer and Almond Milk Coffee Creamer (they’re also available in singles).
In 2023, Nestlé-owned Natural Bliss also entered the plant-based market with the launch of Natural Bliss Oat Milk. At the time of writing, it offers two vegan creamers: Brown Sugar Oat Plant-Based Creamer and Vanilla Almond Plant-Based Creamer.
Abuelita
Abuelita’s Mexican Hot Chocolate is accidentally vegan
Abuelita, the popular Mexican hot chocolate brand Nestlé acquired from La Azteca in the 1990s, offers a few accidentally vegan products. In other words, they’re vegan by default rather than design, but we’ll take it.
The Authentic Mexican Hot Chocolate Drink Tablets and Authentic Mexican Chocolate Drink Mix Bar are both vegan-friendly. Steer clear of the Authentic Mexican Chocolate Drink Mix Granulated and Mexican-Style Instant Hot Chocolate Mix, however, as both contain milk.
Nescafé
Nescafé’s Espresso Concentrates and classic granules are vegan
Most coffee products are vegan, and Nescafé is no exception. Stick with its classic instant coffee granules, or explore its flavored Espresso Concentrates for creative homemade lattes.
All four varieties, Black, Sweet Vanilla, Sweet Caramel, and Sweet Mocha, are entirely free from animal-derived ingredients.
Starbuck
Starbucks’ coffee pods and dairy-free creamers come from Nestlé
It turns out Starbucks doesn’t distribute its own packaged, at-home coffee products. Guess who does? Yep, it’s Nestlé. Most products, including Starbucks espresso pods and coffee beans, are vegan by default. The brand also offers non-dairy creamers in flavors such as Caramel Macchiato, Pumpkin Spice Latte, and Hazelnut.
But here’s where it gets a little confusing. Starbucks’ ready-to-drink coffee beverages, including its bottled Frappuccinos, are licensed through PepsiCo rather than Nestlé.
And one final heads-up: if you’re a fan of the non-dairy Frappuccinos, it might be a good idea to stock up. Rumor has it they could be discontinued soon.
For more plant-based stories like this, read:
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Charlotte is a VegNews editor and writer based in sunny Southsea on England's southern coast.
Here at VegNews, we live and breathe the plant-based lifestyle, and only recommend products we feel make our lives amazing. Occasionally, articles may include links where we might earn a small commission, but in no way does this effect the editorial integrity of VegNews.
