Merit Functional Foods and its technology partner Burcon NutraScience have announced that they have entered into a joint development agreement with Nestlé. The goal of the joint agreement is to develop and commercialize Merit’s novel plant protein ingredients for use in Nestlé’s plant-based foods and beverages.

“Partnering with Nestlé – a global leader in food and nutrition – is a great milestone for Merit Functional Foods,” said Merit Co-CEO Ryan Bracken. “Merit has already demonstrated the impact of our novel proteins in plant-based foods. This new partnership helps build on this, and it’s a major step in developing the next generation of nutritious and delicious plant-based products that draw on the benefits of our novel proteins.”

The joint agreement commences a long-term relationship among the parties, covering Merit’s novel proteins.

Merit is currently building its commercial-scale production facility in Winnipeg, which is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2020.

The state-of-the-art facility will produce various plant-based protein ingredients (pea and canola) using Burcon’s proprietary and patented extraction and purification technology.