The new Cowabunga beverages contain animal-free whey and are fortified with calcium and Vitamin D.
Food and beverage giant Nestlé is bringing its line of animal-free dairy drinks to select US San Francisco grocery stores under the Cowabunga brand.
The new range comes from a partnership with California-based Perfect Day that manufactures animal-free whey using precision fermentation.
The dairy-free drinks are fortified with calcium and Vitamin D and are available in two flavours: milk and chocolate.
The Swiss food giant first announced plans to explore the potential of animal-free dairy in September. It partnered with Perfect Day through its newly-established US R+D Accelerator.
‘Animal-friendly alternatives’
“As the world’s largest food and beverage company, delivering foods and beverages that are good for people and the planet is a priority,” Heike Steiling, Head of Nestlé’s Development Center for dairy products, said at the time.
“We are exploring emerging technologies that can lead to animal-friendly alternatives that are nutritious and sustainable, without compromising on taste, flavour, and texture.”
The accelerator is a new initiative that aims to explore new technologies and introduce them in the market in under six months.
Joanna Yarbrough, head of R+D Accelerator, added: “We are excited to pilot Nestlé’s first animal-free dairy protein-based products through our U.S. R+D Accelerator.
“While this category is still very young, we know consumers are looking for products that have a reduced environmental footprint, and we are evaluating this avenue as a future growth opportunity for our business.”
Perfect Day foods
Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi founded Perfect Day in 2014 as an animal-free ingredients business. They use precision fermentation to make protein that is identical to the whey protein found in cow’s milk.
The process involves adding naturally-occurring microflora to industrial-scale fermentation tanks.
The specific protein is made in a brewing tank where microflora digest nutrients from plants and turn them into a milk protein
According to Perfect Day, the beverage is naturally lactose and cholesterol free and contains an excellent source of protein and vitamins.
The food tech brand claims that its protein can make several dairy-identical products, including milk, cheese, and yoghourt, without any animal sourced ingredient.
Not only that, the climate conscious milk protein emits up to 80% less greenhouse gas emissions and up to 94% less water compared to that of traditional dairy milk.
Perfect Day has secured $750m in funding so far, and has also created a line of chocolate bars for Mars.
Nestlé’s plant-based trajectory
Although Nestle’s portfolio has traditionally been dairy-centric, the brand is actively exploring sustainable alternatives.
It has already forayed in the plant-based food industry with its European Garden Gourmet brand and its US subsidiary Sweet Earth.
The food giant also made direct investments into Sundial Foods – a California based vegan startup mimicking chicken products with skin and bones.
Last year, Nestlé released KitKat V in select markets. It took the brand two years to perfect the vegan recipe of its classic KitKat bar at its York, United Kingdom facility.
Share this story: Nestlé launches animal-free dairy Cowabunga beverages.
Lifestyle
Vegan culture, food, beauty & more
Gordon Ramsay Ditches Vegan Hate and Backs Flora’s Plant-Based Butter in New ‘Skip the Cow’ Campaign
- Totally Vegan Buzz Team
- 28th January 2025
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, once infamous for his digs at vegans, has taken a sharp turn in the kitchen. Ramsay has teamed up with Flora, the famous UK-based spread brand, as its global ambassador, marking a bold new chapter in Flora’s “Skip the Cow” campaign. Flora, established in 1964, has long been a household name …
The Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Places in Latin America
- Totally Vegan Buzz Team
- 27th January 2025
Latin America is experiencing an extraordinary rise in plant-based dining options. A new study, spearheaded by Veganuary in partnership with the food discovery platform HappyCow, reveals that Latin America now boasts over 10,000 vegan, vegetarian, and vegan-friendly restaurants—an impressive 21.6% jump compared to last year. Brazil takes the crown as the number one country, with …
Continue reading “The Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Places in Latin America”
VEGAN MEMES
NEED A LAUGH?
QUIZZES
All the quizzes you love to binge!
QUIZ: If you score 11/12 on this quiz, you’re a verified vegan food expert
- Marlon Farrugia
- 10th January 2020
How much vegan knowledge do you have stored away? Do you have to Google your way through a shopping trip, or do you have all the bad E-numbers memorised? Find out now with this quiz. [wpViralQuiz id=27203]
QUIZ: What is your perfect Vegan Halloween Costume?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 13th October 2019
Spook Season approaches. There will be ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and glucose. You need a costume, and you want to it to show off your personality, which means VEGAN. But what to choose? Take our quiz to find out your perfect outfit. [wpViralQuiz id=33494]
QUIZ: What kind of vegetable are you?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 26th September 2019
“If you were a vegetable, what kind would you be?” A question that has tormented humanity throughout the ages – until now. [wpViralQuiz id=31281] Read: QUIZ: If you score 19/20 on THIS quiz, you’re a Vegan God