Nestlé Malaysia has opened its new plant-based meal solutions manufacturing facility with a $36.3m (MYR150m) investment.

Located within Nestlé’s existing Shah Alam Industrial Complex in Selangor, the new production site will be engaged in the production of plant-based foods to meet the growing demand in both domestic and overseas markets.

The company stated that its new manufacturing facility is the first in the ASEAN region and one of only two in Asia.

Nestlé Malaysia Berhad CEO Juan Aranols said: “This production site in Shah Alam will allow us to supply locally produced, high-quality, great-tasting and Halal certified plant-based meals.

“In the same way as it is happening in other parts of the world, Malaysians are becoming interested in exploring alternatives to meat consumption, either because of health reasons or for environmental considerations.

“For them, we have developed an exciting range of new products that provide an excellent nutritional alternative supporting healthier and more sustainable lifestyles.”

Spread over an area of approximately 6,000m², the new facility will have the capacity to develop 8,000tpa of plant-based food products and features advanced food processing machinery and automated packing lines.

The new site will be used by the company for producing plant-based burgers, schnitzels, mince and more under its new Harvest Gourmet brand.

Nestlé stated that its new facility has already started production of its new Harvest Gourmet plant-based products for the out-of-home market.

It will also soon launch its consumer range, which will be available in retail outlets and e-commerce channels in the country.

The company claimed that all its products from this new facility are meat-free and produced using plant-based ingredients such as soy, wheat, beetroot, carrot, pomegranate and blackcurrant.

Nestlé Zone Asia, Oceania and sub-Saharan Africa executive vice-president and CEO Chris Johnson said: “We have chosen Malaysia, and Selangor, as the location of this new manufacturing hub, as we find here the right infrastructure, trade links and access to talent and capabilities.

“We also build on Nestlé’s 108 years of successful presence in Malaysia. We are confident that with this new facility we will be able to capture the exciting growth opportunity for plant-based products in this region, which is a very important growth priority for the Nestlé Group worldwide.”

In December 2020, Nestlé launched its  Harvest Gourmet plant-based meat brand in China.

Among the products launched include burgers, sausages, nuggets and mince.

Nestlé had then said it would also sell plant-based alternatives to kung pao chicken, braised meatballs, and pork belly.