Nectar acquires Taste Like’s data assets to enhance plant-based meat innovation

USA – Nectar, a publisher specializing in sensory analysis for alternative meats, has acquired the data assets of Taste Like, an online platform that helps users discover animal-free food products. 

Even though the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, the acquisition is aimed at accelerating the plant-based protein sector.

Nectar, which launched in June 2024, focuses on large-scale sensory testing to support the transition to alternative proteins. 

Caroline Cotto, the company’s director, emphasized that combining Nectar’s sensory data with Taste Like’s nutritional and ingredient information would significantly drive product innovation. 

“This acquisition will help us foster data-driven research that will shape the future of the industry,” Cotto said.

Taste Like, founded by a female-led team in 2021, provides a consumer packaged goods directory that tracks the nutritional, ingredient, and allergen details of over 1,200 plant-based and fermented food items. 

The platform serves data for products from roughly 147 companies, including a breakdown of nutrition information by serving size and over 200 ingredient tags to ensure high-quality data aggregation.

The acquisition is expected to facilitate the use of the combined data in machine learning and AI applications, allowing for predictive analytics that could streamline the development of new alternative protein products. 

Nectar plans to use the data to expand into other protein categories and cheeses in 2025, according to company representatives.

In a statement, Nectar reinforced its mission to reduce global meat consumption, citing its research as a source of optimism about the potential for plant-based products to meet consumer taste expectations. 

Despite ongoing challenges in the cultural and media perceptions of plant-based meat, the company believes its findings show a promising future for the sector.

This whole strategy is aimed at tapping into the plant based meat market. 

The global plant-based meat market size was valued at USD 7.17 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.4% from 2024 to 2030.

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