Nestlé to partner with Latin American venture capital fund to promote sustainability

09-Jun-2023 - Last updated on 09-Jun-2023 at 17:44 GMT

Yield Lab Latam funds regenerative agriculture companies in Latin America. Image Source: omersukrugoksu/Getty Images

Nestlé has announced that it will partner with Yield Lab Latam, a Latin American venture capital fund, to work on sustainable packaging and regenerative farming. Yield Lab Latam provides funding to agri-food companies across Latin America, connecting start-ups and investors, corporates and farmers, research communities and the public sector.

Nestlé will invest in Yield lab Latam’s sustainability fund, which funds organisations creating packaging, as well as to use regenerative farming.

“Nestlé is investing in Yield Lab Latam as part of its commitment to support a transition to regenerative agriculture,” a Nestlé spokesperson told FoodNavigator.

“The goal is to identify solutions that complement our ongoing work in sustainability in the agricultural sector. This is part of our open innovation approach where we look to work together with external partners and strengthen local innovation infrastructure.”

Nestlé admits that almost two-thirds of its greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. It has committed to regenerative agriculture to offset some of these emissions.

The project adds to Nestlé’s existing commitment to sustainability in Latin America. They are particularly concerned about implementing regenerative agriculture practices across the dairy industry and have already launched 80 projects in 11 countries across the region.

Although no official definition exists, the term regenerative agriculture usually refers to farming practices that improve the environment, be it by reducing the use of chemicals such as pesticides, avoiding soil disturbance, or increasing crop diversity.

“The Yield Lab is investing in companies that put [sustainability] at the forefront and develop solutions in this area,” Nestlé’s spokesperson told us.

“Nestlé is committed to supporting the transition to regenerative agriculture and the sustainable transformation of the agri-food sector. This is very much in line with the stated goals of The Yield Lab. The idea is to find solutions to make the sector more sustainable and efficient.”

Latin labs

Yield Lab Latam, which has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico, has invested in a wide range of companies already.

For example, they have invested in Eiwa from Argentina, a management platform for seed, crop protection and crop nutrition corporations; Sioma from Colombia, a startiup that uses technology to improve the productivity of tropical farmers; SpaceAG from Peru, a company which provides growers with insights on the growth of their crops in the growing season, and Agroforte from Brazil, a digital bank for small and medium meat and poultry producers.

“The relationship with Nestlé reflects the common vision of committing ourselves and the food production ecosystem to jointly help address the challenges of the industry,” said Santiago Murtagh, managing director of the Yield Lab Latam.

“We are leveraging our proximity to local entrepreneurial talent and the reach of our network of innovation centers. From this local position and the regional experience of having invested in seven Latin American countries, we can act as a bridge between investors in the food industry and innovative solutions for the sustainable production of healthy, nutritious, safe and accessible food for the next generation."