Nestl?? celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Kit-Kat candy bar in 2010. While this is a popular candy bar treat, Nestl?? is committed to a future of developing health and wellness products in addition to satisfactions for chocolate cravings.
The Nestl?? website has contained a “Nutrition, Health & Wellness” tab for some time now. However, the tidbits of information here pale in comparison to Nestl?????s current undertaking. In September 2010, Nestl?? stated in a press release that it is committing over $500 million Swiss francs (about $509 million U.S. dollars) over the next ten years to research products that may be used to treat significant diseases and disorders.
In order to accomplish this goal, Nestl?? has created a new subsidiary called Nestl?? Health Science. In addition, Nestl?? will create a research branch called the Nestl?? Institute of Health Sciences. The mission of the Nestl?? Institute of Health Sciences is to pioneer a new industry that is comprised of food and pharma. This new business arm of Nestl?? will incorporate the current health care branch of Nestl??, called Nestl?? HealthCare Nutrition ??? which accounted for sales totaling (about) $1.6 billion in 2009.
Nestl?? is based in Switzerland (Vevey) and is set to compete against pharmaceutical giants such as Abbott Laboratories and Unilever. The primary targets of Nestl?? focus include Alzheimer???s disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. According to Nestl?????s chairman, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, the belief at Nestl?? is that disease prevention will likely play a greater role in the future spending on health care.
While it is difficult to determine what impact Nestl?? will have in this new endeavor, Nestl?? is able to undertake this new venture without the financial requirements of producing an immediate return on investment (ROI). However, analysts have stated that this new path for Nestl?? will capitalize on the existing strengths of this company.