The Change Mariner

Nestle Turns To 'Phood' For Growth

Wall Street Journal (subscription):

With the industry facing stagnant sales growth, Nestle is looking for growth in the intersection of food and pharmaceuticals -- a niche of nutritionally enhanced products known in the business as "phood." The company is betting that health-conscious consumers will pay more for fare that provides health benefits such as lowering cholesterol or aiding digestion.

...

Still, phood provides a much-needed new frontier for Nestle and others in the $1.1 trillion global packaged-food industry, which has hit a wall after decades of rapid growth. During the first half of the 20th century, urbanization and technologies such as canning and drying made mass-marketed foods possible -- and turned Kraft Foods Inc. and Kellogg Co. into global companies.

...

Meanwhile, food companies are under pressure to help stanch a growing obesity epidemic world-wide. With the exception of cancer, virtually all the other major killers are diet-related diseases. By 2030, for example, 370 million people world-wide are expected to have diabetes, up from 177 million in 2000, according to the World Health Organization.

Posted by Timothy Fredel at March 18, 2004 10:44 PM | TrackBack
Related Categories: Industry - Food | Quadrant - Technological | Theme - 'Health(ier) Food' | Theme - 'Obesity Epidemic'

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