Nestlé, World’s Largest Food Company, to Invest $1.3 Billion in Regenerative Agriculture

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This article originally appeared in Presence Marketing’s October 2021 Industry Newsletter

By Steve Hoffman

With agriculture accounting for nearly two-thirds of Nestlé’s total greenhouse gas emissions – with dairy and livestock accounting for half of that – the world’s largest food company announced on Sept. 16, 2021, that it is investing $1.3 billion over the next five years to help its farmers and suppliers transition to regenerative agriculture practices.

“With our long-standing partnerships with farming communities globally, we want to increase our support for farming practices that are good for the environment and good for people,” said Mark Schneider, CEO of the Swiss-based food company in a statement. “In the spirit of enabling a just transition it is vital that we support farmers around the world that take on the risks and costs associated with the move towards regenerative agriculture.”

Nestlé’s Chairman, Paul Bulcke, added, "We know that regenerative agriculture plays a critical role in improving soil health, restoring water cycles and increasing biodiversity for the long term. These outcomes form the foundation of sustainable food production and, crucially, also contribute to achieving our ambitious climate targets." 

According to Food Business News, Nestlé said it will focus primarily on three initiatives. First, Nestlé said it will use its network of R&D personnel and agronomists to develop more environmentally friendly crops and production practices. Second, the company said it will offer training and help producers exchange information and best practices that may be adapted locally, and that it will support farmers by co-investing with them, facilitating lending or helping obtain loans for equipment. Third, Nestlé said it is committed to paying premium prices for products produced using regenerative agriculture practices. 

“This means rewarding farmers not only for the quantity and quality of ingredients, but also for the benefits they provide to the environment through soil protection, water management and carbon sequestration,” the company said.

Nestlé’s announcement was made in the lead up to the UN Food Systems Summit in New York, as part of Nestle's contribution to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, the company said. It also follows the recent report from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that shows the climate crisis is intensifying, it added.

Dean Foods Bankruptcy Impacts Natural, Organic Brands

Originally Appeared in Presence Marketing News, December 2019
By Steven Hoffman

Uncle Matt’s Organic Inc., a leading organic juice brand, on November 12 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, along with dozens of other businesses owned by Dean Foods Company, the largest milk processor in the U.S.

Dallas-based Dean Foods (NYSE: DF) said the bankruptcy filings by it and all its subsidiaries in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas comes as the company deals with losing its biggest customer, Walmart, which decided to build its own milk plant, and the impact of declining demand for milk as American consumers opt for plant-based beverage alternatives, reported Sustainable Business News, a subscriber-based organic and sustainable food industry online news site. 

Founded in 1925, Dean Foods’ brand portfolio includes more than 50 national and regional dairy brands, including Country Fresh, DairyPure, Friendly’s, Garelick Farms, Land O’Lakes, Meadow Gold, Oak Farms Dairy, Swiss Premium, TruMoo, Tuscan Dairy Farms, and others. Among its natural and organic brand holdings, Dean Foods also owns juice maker Uncle Matt’s Organic, based in Clermont, FL, and is a majority stakeholder in flax-based plant beverage brand Good Karma, based in Boulder, CO. 

The bankruptcy filing’s effect on those companies is uncertain at this point. Representatives from Uncle Matt’s have not issued comment, to date. In an email to BevNET, Good Karma CEO Doug Radi said Dean Foods’ bankruptcy has “no impact” on the brand, which remains an independent company with a separate leadership team and board of directors. “We remain dedicated to our mission of making dairy alternative food and beverage products that deliver a plant-based mighty bundle of nutrition,” he told BevNET. 

In a statement to BevNET, CROPP Cooperative — which includes Organic Valley, Organic Prairie and Mighty Organic — said that, while it is “disheartened” by the bankruptcy, the joint venture it established in March 2017 with Dean Foods, called Organic Valley Fresh,  a direct to store distribution system for Organic Valley products, is outside of the Dean Foods filing, meaning “it has no impact on the venture’s customers or vendors. Organic Valley remains strong and our business overall has been bolstered by new innovations we’ve brought to market, including Ultra, the first organic ultra-filtered milk,” the statement read.