Nestlé Discontinues Pea-Based Milk Alternative Wunda

Nestlé has withdrawn its yellow pea-based milk alternative, Wunda, from the market. The Swiss multinational company confirmed to Dutch publication Food+Agri that Wunda is no longer available in the Netherlands, and the product has also disappeared from international sites. Additionally, the brand’s dedicated website has been taken down.

Wunda launched in 2021 and was one of the first milk alternatives made from yellow peas. While the product initially did well, there were suggestions that Nestlé may have entered the market too late. It also could be suggested that some consumers may have avoided the brand due to concerns about Nestlé’s ethical controversies in favour of other brands.

Last year, Nestlé withdrew Wunda from sale in the UK, along with its plant-based meat brand Garden Gourmet. The brand had struggled to keep up with competitors such as Alpro and Oatly, experiencing rising production costs and a competitive market. However, Nestlé said it would not be leaving the plant-based space altogether, and would offer plant-based options under some of its more established brands such as Mindful Chef.

“We believe it is right at this time to focus our investments and resources on our strong core portfolio, rather than the significant investments required in new brands,” the company said at the time.

High-protein milk alternative

Alongside soy, pea milk is one of the only plant-based milks with a comparable protein content to dairy, and is said to be one of the healthiest milk alternatives due to its nutrient density.

Though Wunda has been discontinued, there are still several pea milk brands available across Europe. These include the UK’s MIGHTY and Sweden’s Sproud, with the latter now available in 30 countries worldwide. Germany’s vly and Belgium’s Tiptoh also offer pea-based milk alternatives.

“Our product has 50% more protein than any other milk including cow’s milk,” vly told vegconomist. “Studies show how advantageous adding a high-quality plant-based protein source such as pea protein is to alleviate blood sugar spikes that cause you to crash.”