Nutricia, under the world-leading food and beverages company Danone, has recently announced its plan to enter the Philippine market later this year—bringing the best of science and innovations they have in Europe.
Responsible for Early Life Nutrition and Medical Nutrition business of Danone, Nutricia remains the leading brand in Europe and is present in key Asian markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, China, Thailand, and Indonesia, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. Nutricia works with parents, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to promote early life nutrition through advice and support, as well as products and services.
Nutricia shares their science and innovation history during a special event for the medical community. Europe’s #1 brand for Early Life Nutrition invited international experts to talk about the breakthroughs in nutrition science. (From left) Nutricia Global Science Director Dr. Udo Herz, Dr. Flavia Indrio, and Dr. Hugo Heijmans
During a special event for the medical community to launch and introduce its nutrition business in the Philippines, Nutricia presented its portfolio and shared its values, science, and innovation history to 300 healthcare practitioners who were in attendance. Nutricia has also invited international experts namely: Dr. Udo Herz, Nutricia Global Science Director; Dr. Hugo Heijmans, Chairman of Global Health Initiative of Academic Medical Centre at the University of Amsterdam; and Dr. Flavia Indrio, Associate Professor of Pediatric at the University of Bari in Italy, to talk about the breakthroughs in nutrition science that have established Nutricia as one of the top brands and pioneers in Early Life Nutrition.
Since 1896, Nutricia has been at the forefront of research, scientific discovery and innovations in infant nutrition—driven by the desire to deliver nutritional products to those with special needs. Nutricia plans to bring its breadth of knowledge to the country with 120 years of experience in its category and over 40 years of dedicated research and development, working towards one goal: “Bringing health through food to as many people as possible.”
Offering Early Life Nutrition solutions to Filipinos
In the Philippines, malnutrition remains one of the leading causes of child deaths. According to a UNICEF report in 2014, 95 Filipino children die from malnutrition every day while 27 out of 1,000 children do not get past their fifth birthday. A third of Filipino children are stunted, or too short for their age—causing them to fail to grow and develop to full potential. A recent study by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) stated that the current chronic malnutrition rate among Filipino children aged 0 to 2 is now at 26.2 percent, the highest in 10 years.
As a world leader in Early Life Nutrition, Nutricia aims to help provide solutions to some of the country’s nutritional issues and to work with the medical community to improve the nutritional status of the Philippines. In an interview with the press, Alexandre Freri, Country Manager of Nutricia shared that the company has been working on understanding the Philippine market for more than 3 years—planning the services, educational programs, and products they could offer to Filipinos.
Alexandre Freri, Country Manager of Nutricia
“The Philippines is one of the leading markets when it comes to Early Life Nutrition. [With] Nutricia being one of the leading companies in this field, we are very committed to come and [help] contribute to the [betterment of] the nutritional status of the country,” said Freri.
Nutricia has partnered with a major local company in the country to launch the best of their portfolio for pregnant women and children with products that are based on the latest science and research, secured quality and safety requirements, and are aligned with local regulations.
Nutricia’s Early Life Nutrition Division focuses on production and distribution of specialized food for babies and young children, while its Medical Nutrition Division produces and markets special clinical nutrition, diet products and disease-specific nutrition.
Standing by moms and bringing science to early life
As a company, Nutricia supports the promotion of breast milk in accordance to the World Health Organization’s International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, which emphasizes the importance of maintaining the practice of breastfeeding to improve the health and nutrition of infants and young children.
Breast milk is not only the best source of nutrition for infants, but also serves as their first immunization against illness and disease. However, for rare instances that a child cannot be breastfed for some medical reasons advised by healthcare professionals, Nutricia steps in to deliver nutritional products to mothers and children with special needs.
With over 100 years of scientific discovery and nutrition innovations, Nutricia uses life science, food science, technology and expertise of over 600 employees to provide the highest quality products. The company works hand in hand with doctors and other healthcare providers in delivering optimal nutrition for people when they need it most.
In line with their mission to “stand by moms every day,” Nutricia also plans to introduce Aptamom in the Philippines, a healthy cereal bar snack to help pregnant women get a healthy and balanced diet during their pregnancy.
“We want to provide a solution for pregnant women to actually have a healthy snack that provides key nutrients and vitamins [they need during] pregnancy. [This is because] the first days of pregnancy will have an impact over the health of their future-born. We are very happy and excited to bring a solution that can be accepted by mothers because it’s very convenient and has a good taste while being nutritious,” shared Freri.
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