Friday, January 24, 2020

Nestlé inks deal with Winnipeg plant protein supplier

Nestlé SA, one of the world’s largest food companies, is going to buy a blend of pea and canola proteins from Merit Functional Foods of Winnipeg and Burcon NutraScience Corp., another Canadian company.

Nestlé will use the proteins for its plant-based burgers and nuggets. 

The agreement with Nestlé is long-term, with no expiry, Burcon chief executive Johann Tergesen said in an interview with the Globe and Mail. 

Merit is building a plant capable to producing 20,000 tonnes a year. It plans to have it open by the end of the year.

Merit will process the proteins using Burcon technology under a licensing agreement.

“It’s a little bit like Christmas morning for those of us who have been doing this for 20 years,” Tergesen said.

“In the early days, I had to explain to people what protein was. Now it has been a wild ride.”


With the deal, Burcon expects to report its first-ever commercial revenue and profit in 2021. Terms were not released.
Nestlé launched soy and wheat protein-based “Incredible Burgers” in Europe last year.