Our history and nutrition expertise
As from January 2006, Nestlé Nutrition is a stand-alone organization within Nestlé – but draws on the resources of the world’s largest food company. Nutrition has been a cornerstone of Nestlé since the company was founded by Henri Nestlé in 1867. He was a chemist driven by scientific investigation into child nutrition and his first infant formula was created to save the life of his neighbor’s child, a premature baby, who was unable to breast feed and suffering from malnutrition. Today we have 3500 people working in Nestlé R&D to find specific solutions for complex nutritional needs.
Our research programs aim to discover how nutrition can play a major role in supporting optimal growth and development, increasing performance, managing diseases and enhancing recovery and quality of life. This, combined with our insights from consumers, caregivers and healthcare professionals has helped Nestlé Nutrition define three major areas for current and future research:
- Immune Modulation: Foods and food components can help protect the body against infection as well as allergies and gut inflammation. Clinical studies have shown that Nestlé Nutrition’s Alfaré Semi-Elemental Formula helps infants suffering from severe diarrhea to recover and grow normally. Nestlé Nutrition’s Peptamen has been clinically proven to fulfill the nutritional needs of patients with compromised gastrointestinal function.
- Energy Metabolism: During the past century, our lifestyle and environment have changed markedly. We consume more food yet participate in less physical activity. This has led to a global increase in obesity and diabetes. Our nutritional solutions for diabetes include the Nutren Balance range of products which help to control blood glucose, delay hunger and reduce cholesterol. Nestlé Nutrition is also considering hospital solutions for the "malnourished obese", which include diets rich in protein and micronutrients, but low in calories.
- Cognitive Function: Nutrition can have a positive impact on physical and mental performance. To achieve peak physical performance the body needs enough stored energy or energy available to the muscles. Nestlé Nutrition has pioneered the development of infant formulas with LC-PUFAs (long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids) which can support brain development in infants. The role of nutrition in cognitive maintenance during old age is another important research area.
We have the world's largest and most respected R&D team in the nutrition industry. Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, the Nestlé Research Center (NRC) is one of the leading research institutes in the world specializing in the field of nutritional science. The NRC is home to more than 300 PhD scientists, each committed to discovering new ways for nutrition to contribute to good health and to meet the specific nutritional needs of people at every stage of their lives. Our "Product Technology Centers" develop the safest and most quality oriented processes and translate science into products that deliver functional health benefits for consumers and patients.