Swiss firm sets up centre for special medical foods

Nestle Health Science has invested in a product innovation center in Taizhou, Jiangsu province, as it joined several nutrition health brands in tapping the country's growing demand for clinical nutrition.

The center will operate in parallel with Nestle Health Science's product innovation centers in the United States and in Switzerland, sharing global advanced core R&D technologies, localized innovations for China's national standards and consumer needs, and enriching the firm's product systems of Foods for Special Medical Purpose (FSMP) in China.

Nestle Health Science is a subsidiary of Nestle, the biggest food company in the world whose headquarters is in Switzerland. Having been in the Chinese market for the last three years, Nestle Health Science has posted double-digit in the country, with its products being locally manufactured. It has 11 approved formula products in China, including five for babies and infants and six for FSMP.

The center being built in China reflects the firm's confidence and commitment to the Chinese market but will also serve the Asia-Pacific region.

Products manufactured in its factory in Taizhou serve consumers on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, said Cecily Gu, regional business head of Nestle Health Science China.

The first liquid whole protein nutrition formula developed by the Product Innovation Center of Nestle Health Science China called Nutren Novasource GI has successfully obtained registration as a food for special medical purpose in July 2019.

"This innovation will trigger a new era of high-quality FSMP in China and lead the Chinese clinical nutrition to a new level," Gu said. "Nestle Health Sciences will provide cutting-edge technical support and experience for developing high quality FSMP suitable to Chinese consumers," said Gregory Behar, the global CEO of Nestle Health Science Group.

The Nestle Health Science Taizhou Factory is the first approved liquid fullnutrition FSMP factory in China. It will introduce internationally advanced production technologies and formulas, such as Nutren Novasource GI, into China and has greatly promoted the process of localized production in the Chinese FSMP market.

Gu said: "I believe that FSMP will release great vitality and bring more opportunities for enterprises and consumers in China. The Product Innovation Center will continue to carry out localized innovations, develop formulas according to Chinese tastes and nutritional diet characteristics, and enable more patients to receive nutritional treatment. It also helps to further narrow the gap in clinical nutrition treatment."

She said the factory and innovation center will consider adding more locally adapted flavors for recovering Chinese patients such as dates. An aging society and the steady improvement of consumption levels meant awareness of nutrition and health practices by the Chinese people has constantly risen.

Michel Gardet, the global business head for Medical Nutrition of Nestle Health Science, believes that "China's FSMP market may face a long-term incubation period.