Swiss food and beverage company Nestlé has entered a partnership with UK-based regenerative agriculture company Wildfarmed to incorporate regeneratively farmed wheat into the production of KitKat bars at its manufacturing facility in York, scaling the use of nature-positive farming practices into one of the world's most recognisable confectionery brands.

As reported by ESG Today, the partnership follows a series of successful commercial trials conducted at the York facility last year. Following those trials, Nestlé has begun incorporating Wildfarmed's wheat into regular production, with the regeneratively farmed ingredient now used across 1.5 billion KitKat bars produced annually at the site.

Edd Lees, CEO and Co-founder of Wildfarmed, said: "1.5 billion KitKat bars are made every year in the UK. Partnering with Nestlé to use regenerative British wheat is a big step forward in our mission to make regenerative farming the default, not the exception, and prove that nature restoration can sit at the heart of iconic brands."

Dr Emma Keller, Head of Sustainability at Nestlé UK and Ireland, said: "This collaboration is all about making the KitKat everyone has known and loved for the last 90 years in an even more sustainable way, all while supporting British wheat farmers to adopt regenerative farming practices that are intended to support carbon reduction and increase biodiversity."

Founded in 2018 by Andy Cato, George Lamb, and Edd Lees, Wildfarmed works with a network of British farmers focused on key regenerative principles including minimising soil disturbance, maintaining year-round soil cover, and increasing crop diversity. According to the company, these practices improve biodiversity and soil health while reducing water pollution and carbon emissions.

Regenerative agriculture techniques are designed to restore ecosystems, build soil fertility, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance watershed management, and improve farmers' livelihoods, addressing environmental pressures at the farm level rather than relying solely on offsetting or downstream mitigation measures.

The partnership supports Nestlé's goal to source 50% of its key ingredients from farmers using regenerative agriculture by 2030, set out under its Regenerative Agriculture Framework introduced in 2022 as part of its broader 2050 net zero climate strategy.

Explore the full details of the Nestlé and Wildfarmed partnership and its implications for sustainable food production in the complete coverage.