Nestlé, DSM-Firmenich lead food sector patent applications as Soda producers limit applications
GLOBAL – Swiss food giant Nestlé and ingredients supplier DSM-Firmenich were the most active patent applicants in the food and beverage space for the year ending June 2023, a new report by GlobalData has revealed.
According to the report, Nestlé sought approval for 570 patents while DSM-Firmenich, which supplies ingredients to companies in sectors including dairy, bakery and meat, had filed for 216 patents.
Most of Nestlé’s patents – 386 – centred on “health and wellness” while 63 were classified as being related to plant-based diets and included patents related to meat and seafood analogs.
Overall, the US was the location for most of the Swiss giant’s applications, with 117 lodged in the country.
Nestlé also had the most patent applications granted during the year to the end of June, with 242 given the green light. DSM-Firmenich were fourth on the list with 79. Danone was third with 98.
Meanwhile soft-drinks giants The Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo lodged fewer patent applications in the 12 months to the end of June than a year earlier, according to GlobalData.
Between 1 July 2021 and 30 July 2022, The Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo filed 53 and 60 patent applications respectively. Those numbers dropped to 42 and 47 in the corresponding year, GlobalData said.
Coca-Cola’s patent applications in the 12 months to the end of June this year, nine centered on “health and wellness”, compared to seven a year earlier, the data says.
As for PepsiCo, 17 of the most recent 12 months of patents were linked to health and wellness. A year earlier, 21 of its applications were related to the environment, with the US remaining its most active location.
The company made most of its applications overall (13) in the US; the Coke Zero brand owner filed most of its application (10) with the European Patent Office.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics database contains global figures on the patents filed – and granted – by businesses across multiple sectors.
Each patent is classified by theme, including those linked to areas such as the environment or health and wellness.
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