Planting change for a better tomorrow with GARDEN GOURMET®
We’re on a journey towards adopting regenerative practices and reducing our impact from soil to service, while creating food that tastes absolutely delicious for your guests.
That is why we want to get more people to join us on our mission – because eating more plant-based food today can help make a better tomorrow. Read on to find out more about the different initiatives.
NUTRITION
We prioritise nutrition in all our GARDEN GOURMET® Professional products.
Protein is an important nutrient in the human body, as it contributes to the maintenance of muscle mass and normal bones.1 This is why all our GARDEN GOURMET® Professional products are at least 'Source of Protein'.2 Over 85% of the products are even 'High in Protein'.2
Fibre plays an essential role in maintaining our overall health and well-being. However, most adult European citizens fall short of the recommendation of at least 25g per day.3 All our GARDEN GOURMET® Professional products provide at least a 'Source of Fibre', more than half of our portfolio is 'High in Fibre'.2 In addition to this, all our products obtained a Nutri-Score of A or B. Find out more about Nutri-Score at the end of this article.
INCREASING VEGAN OPTIONS
We recognise that switching to vegan options can contribute to lowering environmental footprint.4
Our customers also realise this and may be pleased to know that over 85% of the GARDEN GOURMET® Professional portfolio is certified Vegan. The remaining part of our portfolio is certified Vegetarian. This means our customers can easily satisfy individual customer needs, from vegans to flexitarians.
With every new product launch or recipe improvement, we endeavour to increase the share of vegan products in the GARDEN GOURMET® Professional portfolio.
REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE PRACTICES
GARDEN GOURMET® supports soy farmers in their transition towards regenerative agriculture practices. Regenerative agriculture practices aim to support soil health and improve biodiversity.
Working in collaboration with our soy supplier in Serbia, we support the use of organic fertilizer to help restore the balance of the soil and help to nurture the soy fields’ soil through crop rotation. In addition, trees and hedge lines have been planted to create suitable habitat for diverse animals, birds and insects that participate in pollination and to protect production plots from soil erosion.
At the end of 2023, 50% of the soy protein we used for the GARDEN GOURMET® was sourced from farms with regenerative agriculture practices.5 By the end of 2024, 70% of the soy protein used in our products was sourced from farms with regenerative agriculture practices.5
EUROPEAN SOY PROTEIN
Beside promoting regenerative agriculture practices in collaboration with the soy farmers, we are also considering where we source the soy protein from.
This is why, one of our key initiatives is to transition to sourcing most of our soy protein from Europe in the coming years. In fact, we are proud to share that currently more than 80% of our soy based GARDEN GOURMET® portfolio is produced with soy protein sourced from Europe.5
ENERGY USE
Another relevant fact is that Nestlé's European factories which manufacture our delicious GARDEN GOURMET® products are powered by renewable electricity.
PACKAGING
Our packaging plays a key role in protecting food, preventing food waste and ensuring the quality of our products. Our pouches are made of Polyolefins and are designed to be recyclable.
Join us on our journey, by adding GARDEN GOURMET® to your menu, not only can you delight your customers with delicious plant-based dishes; but also choose a brand that is working towards making a difference for a better tomorrow.
Learn more about Nutri-Score
Nutri-Score6 is a European voluntary front-of pack label that informs about the overall nutritional quality of a product based on a specific algorithm. The label is attributed according to the calculation of a score, that takes into account the amount of two types of nutrients within a product:
- nutrients that should be limited, such as energy, saturated fatty acids, sugars and salt,
- nutrients (fibre and protein) and foods (fruits, vegetables, pulse, nuts, and rapeseed, walnut and olive oils) that should be encouraged. The label is based on a five-color nutritional scale (from dark green to dark orange) and associated with letters (from A to E).
Sources:
2 Products meet the EU requirements for these permitted nutrient claims.
3 Recommended daily intake of fibre and fibre-rich foods to help you achieve it | Eufic
4 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. 2022.
5 Valid for products produced at European Nestlé factories
6 Nutri-Score (santepubliquefrance.fr)