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NESTLE

Nestlé swallows US medical nutrition firm

Swiss-based Nestlé has acquired Pamlab, a US-based company specialized in medical nutrition, as the the world's biggest food company pushes further into what it considers a growth segment.

Published: 26 February 2013 11:35 CET
Nestlé swallows US medical nutrition firm

Nestlé, based in Vevey in the canton of Vaud, said on Tuesday that the acquisition was carried out by its fully-owned subsidiary Nestlé Health Science.
   
Medical nutrition is one of Nestle's growth-drivers and the Pamlab acquisition follows several buys in the field in 2012, including the purchase of Acera, a US company that specializes in nutrition for patients with Alzheimers disease.

"The acquisition of the Pamlab business is aligned with our strategic ambition to provide science-based nutritional solutions for people with chronic medical conditions," said Luis Cantarell, president and chief
executive of Nestlé Health Science, in a statement.

"Pamlab will particularly strengthen our brain health platform and provide us an additional foothold in metabolic health in the US," he said.
   
Pamlab's portfolio includes product formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of patients with diabetes to help restore the metabolic processes associated with the condition of peripheral neuropathy.
   
The serious condition is common among those with Type 2 Diabetes, where the patient's peripheral blood flow has been compromised and their nerves damaged.

Founded in 1987 and based in Louisiana, Pamlab employs 300 people.

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NESTLE

‘Unlimited resources’: Switzerland’s Nestle goes vegan

Swiss food giant Nestle, which has made billions with dairy products, said Monday it will host start-ups that want to develop vegetarian alternatives.

Published: 29 September 2020 15:33 CEST
'Unlimited resources': Switzerland's Nestle goes vegan
Photo: SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP

Nestle could thus find itself at the forefront of a sector that has strong growth potential, an analyst commented.

It plans to open its research and development (R&D) centre in Konolfingen, Switzerland to “start-ups, students and scientists” a statement said.

In addition to testing sustainable dairy products, the group plans to encourage work on plant-based dairy alternatives, it added.

Chief executive Mark Schneider was quoted as saying that “innovation in milk products and plant-based dairy alternatives is core to Nestle's portfolio strategy.”

The group unveiled a vegetable-based milk that had already been developed with the process, and technical director Stefan Palzer told AFP it planned to focus on 100-200 such projects a year.

Jon Cox, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux, noted that while Nestle had missed some consumer trends in the past, it has now “taken something of a lead in the plant-based alternative market for food”.

And “given its pretty much unlimited resources, Nestle is going to come out one of the winners in the space,” Cox forecast in an e-mail.

Nestle said that “internal, external and mixed teams” would work at the R&D centre over six-month periods.

Nestle would provide “expertise and key equipment such as small to medium-scale production equipment to facilitate the rapid upscaling of products for a test launch in a retail environment,” it added.

The Swiss food giant has long been known for its dairy products, but faced a boycott in the 1970s for allegedly discouraging mothers in developing countries from breastfeeding even though it was cheaper and more nutritious than powdered formula.

On Monday, the group's statement also underscored that the research initiative was part of its commitment to help fight global warming.

“As a company, we have set ambitious climate goals. This is part of our promise to develop products that are good for you and good for the planet,” it said.

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