Institute For The Future

Nestle wants to be number one in healthy food

The other day, my colleague, Lea Gamble, brought to my attention this headline: "Nestle outlines 'extreme food' build-up plan." Although I have been involved with our Future of Foodscapes project for quite a while now, I could not remember coming across the term, "extreme food." The head of Nestle Nutrition explains in the Reuters article, "We deal with consumers at the extreme: extremely old, extremely young, extremely frail, or extremely fit."

 

Via a series of strategic acquisitions, which include Gerber baby foods and Novartis Medical Nutrition, Nestle has become the number two food producer in the world for babies, hospitals and "pro-active health seekers" (my emphasis). Not only does Nestle favor probiotic yogurts over snack foods, and mineral waters like Henniez and Perrier over sweetened carbonated drinks, but it also:

 

provides nutrition to patients leaving the operating room and to cancer patients whose bodies wither under both disease and treatment. . . . The company is also addressing the rising incidence of diabetes and obesity -- the "diabesity" problems that plague rich countries and, increasingly, developing countries . . . [-- and it is] targeting clients who seek healthy foods that enhance athletic performance or prevent other maladies.

 

The article notes that the line between food and pharmaceuticals is becoming increasingly blurred, and reports that Nestle intends to overtake leader Abbott Laboratories in the $10 billion health care market. I am looking forward to meeting some of Nestle's executives at our upcoming Future of Foodscapes workshop and learning more about the company's plans to become the world's largest provider of "extreme nutrition."