Mulling more health & nutrition products in India: Nestle

FMCG major Nestle India is considering to expand health and nutrition products offering in the domestic market, leveraging on its parent's global portfolio.
The company, which currently sells two proprietary products in the category, said it is waiting for regulatory clarity on foods for special medical purposes before it launches more such items in India.
"We have Nestle Health Science business, which is nascent in the country. Globally, Nestle is looking at Health Sciences in a big way. The new frontier is not just medicines but food," Nestle India CMD Suresh Narayanan told PTI.
Giving an example of how Nestle is focusing on health and nutrition products, he said, Nestle Health Science, an arm of the Swiss parent, is developing food for people with Alzheimer's which prolongs the onset of the disease.

In India, the company sells two proprietary products 'Resource' and 'Peptamen' through doctors and hospitals. These are specialised products meant to give right kind of metabolic balance and energy, protein and nutrition, he said.
When asked if company has planned to bring more products in the category from its global portfolio in India, Narayanan said: "Sure. At present the business is very very small (in India). Growth, here, can be exponential. We are waiting for some of the regulatory framework to be cleared."

On the opportunity for such products in India, he said: "We have expertise in the whole area of nutrition and health. For example, in issues relating to diabetes and cardiovascular health. This country has 60 million diabetics and cardiovascular patients. Nutrition plays a big role in this."

When asked if such products can work in India, he said: "It will. Our initial response on the health science business has been that some of products used for patient with post operative care are very efficacious."
Narayanan said Nestle India is also open to bring more global brands from the parent's portfolio in order to expand presence here.
"Globally, we have quite a few business which we don't have in India like pet care and Nespresso. Question is, what is relevant for Indian market that we can bring to the table," he added.
Stating that Nestle has 2,000 plus brands globally, Narayanan said: "In India we have only a dozen or so brands. We have right kind of armoury to defend our position in exciting categories."

Terming India as a priority market for Nestle globally, he said: "It is one of the top 10-15 markets. Our commitment to India continues to be very strong. However, in revenue terms, it is under two per cent but the way forward it is only in one direction (upward) in the coming years.