nestlé wants to sell you both sugary snacks and diabetes pills

8/17/2019 Nestlé Wants to Sell You Both Sugary Snacks and Diabetes Pills

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Nestlé Wants to Sell You Both Sugary Snacks

and Diabetes Pills

Take two Butterfingers and call me in the morning.

May 5, 2016Matthew Campbell & Corinne Gretler

Nestlé is by far the largest food ompany in the world! "ts ##5,000 employees prod$e more than2,000 brands, man$fat$red in %#6 fatories aross 5 o$ntries! "t's ($rope's most )al$ableorporation, worth *2%0 billion, omfortably more than oil giant +oyal $th -hell! .mong the

world's 1/5 nations, it sells in 1/!

Nestlé's impat on the history of how we eat is almost impossible to o)erstate! -weets as we nowthem wo$ldn't eist witho$t enri Nestlé, the ompany's fo$nder, who in the late 1/th ent$rys$pplied ondensed mil for the world's first mil hoolate, made by a neighbor in 3e)ey,-wit4erland! Nestlé sientists reated the first instant offee, Nesafé, $st in time for orld ar ""rations! Nestlé hoolate was in the first hoolate hip ooie!

7he Nestlé food and drin empire, inl$ding -an 8ellegrino water and -to$ffer's fro4en dinners, is b$ilt on a fo$ndation of s$gar! 9$tterfinger, Cooie Crisp, :it:at, and ;h enry< are all Nestlé prod$ts! -o are r$msti s$ndae ones, =agen>a4s ie ream, and Nes?$i hoolate mil! "n

1/, Nestlé e)en bo$ght the life>imitates>art andy brand that maes @affy 7affy and NerdsA illyona!

7he ompany's head?$arters, on 3e)ey's .)en$e Nestlé, is far from a psyhedeli s$garsape o$t of +oald ahl! 7he b$ilding, the biggest in town, is a high>modernist pile of al$min$m and green>tintedglass that resembles an $psale hospital or a midsi4e intelligene ageny! Bp a spiral stairase of gleaming metal, offies ha)e fairy>tale )iews of sparling @ae Gene)a and the mist>shro$ded .lps

beyond! 7he perspeti)e testifies that for a ent$ry and a half, s$gar has been sweet! "t isn't anymore!-$gar is oining tobao and alohol in the l$b of prod$ts in whih go)ernments ha)e taen aninterest! "n Marh the B!:! followed Meio in imposing a ta on s$gary drins in an effort to $tobesity! -a$di .rabia may follow! 7he B!-! ood and r$g .dministration is weighing far to$gher

r$les for s$gar labeling, and the latest edition of B!-! dietary reommendations ontained the stritestg$idane on s$gar yet!

"n a 201# re)iew of p$blished researh, sientists affiliated with rane's national sientifi instit$tewrote that s$gar and sweets Dan not only s$bstit$te EforF additi)e dr$gs, lie oaine, b$t an e)en

be more rewarding and attrati)e! .ltho$gh s$gar is Dlearly not as beha)iorally and psyhologially toi, ra)ings for it an be $st as intense, they said!

-ales in Nestlé's onfetionery b$siness ha)e fallen e)ery year sine 2012, mathing delines of ompetitors! .fter assa$lts on sodi$m and sat$rated fats, some ind$stry fig$res are wondering openly

if 9ig ood is the net 9ig 7obao, with all the destr$tion of )al$e that wo$ld imply! .t maor foodompanies, Dthere's omplete paranoia, says @awrene $tter, a ons$ltant at .l)are4 & Marsal in

http://www.bloomberg.com/authors/APrBP735mh8/matthew-campbellhttp://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AQbiiqG4slU/corinne-gretlerhttp://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/http://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AQbiiqG4slU/corinne-gretlerhttp://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/http://www.bloomberg.com/authors/APrBP735mh8/matthew-campbell


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@ondon who wors with them! .ll the large food prod$ers say they're trying to red$e their finanial dependene on s$gar! "n fleeing the storm, they')e darted for )arying types of o)er! Coa>Cola has shr$n soda ansH MondelI4 "nternational, the maer of ;reos, has beome a power in thegl$ten>free mo)ementH 8epsiCo has tried shifting toward healthy>ish snas s$h as h$mm$s!

Nestlé has hosen a radially different path! "t wants to in)ent and sell mediine! 7he prod$ts Nestléwants to reate wo$ld be based on ingredients deri)ed from food and deli)ered as an appealingsna, not a pill, drawing on the ompany's epertise in the dar arts of engineering food for loos,taste, and tet$re! -ome wo$ld re?$ire a presription, some wo$ld be o)er>the>o$nter, and some arealready on store shel)es today!

Nestlé's goal is to redefine itself as a sientifially dri)en Dn$trition, health, and wellness ompany,the ind that an thri)e in a world where reg$lators may loo at 9$tterfingers not so differently from9enson & edges! "f this )ision is reali4ed, a )isit to the family dotor in a deade's time might endwith a presription for a tasty Nestlé shae for heart tro$ble or a reommendation for an .>appro)ed tea to strengthen aging oints! 7he ompany wo$ld epand from the )ending mahine ands$permaret to the pharmay, dotor's offie, and hospital! .t the same time, it wo$ld eep its orefood and sweets b$sinesses! "n other words, Nestlé wo$ld sell a problem with one hand and a remedywith the other!

d Baetge doesn!t touch any of Nestlé!s candy himself" eept for a bit of dar hoolate from thehigh>end Cailler line, and e)en that only on the weeends! Nor does he m$h fit the template of theolorless -wiss ompany man! Net to his des are a s$rfing alendar and a framed photo of a

obalt>bl$e wa)e resting off 7orrey 8ines -tate 9eah north of -an iego, where he grew $p andstill bodys$rfs whene)er he gets ba to the B!-! hen he maes a oe, he throws his head ba into an earsplitting la$gh and, a beat or two later, draws his hands into a single wide lap! "n the landof the world's finest timepiees, he wears a Miey Mo$se wath!

9aetge, 5/, was hired in 2010 to r$n the newly formed Nestlé "nstit$te of ealth -ienes! is pharmae$tial bona fides are $nimpeahable! .fter earning a 8h!! in mole$lar ne$robiology atCornell in 1/#, he wored at a series of bioteh ompanies! e spent 2001 to 2010 at 3iaCyte in-an iego, woring on treatments for diabetes! hen Nestlé ame alling, asing 9aetge to leadresearh into how food o$ld be t$rned into maretable therapies, he was onsidering an offer to r$na New Jor enter for stem ell researh, one of the seiest areas of ontemporary siene! is

medial olleag$es were shoed when he said yes to 9ig Choolate! D" was, lie, in the hot seat for

https://www.nestleinstitutehealthsciences.com/https://www.nestleinstitutehealthsciences.com/


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stem ells, 9aetge says! D7hey'd go, KJo$'re going from there to wor on nutritionL' Nestlé ga)e9aetge a 10>year b$dget of 500 million -wiss frans *52% million!

7oday, 9aetge wors in a narrow offie, beneath an eletroni whiteboard rammed with sribbledred notes, in @a$sanne, a short dri)e $p the lae from 3e)ey! ;n his des are a -wiss army nife,

bags of granola, and a half>do4en pill bottles! e's olleting s$pplements s$h as at's>law, a8er$)ian )ine p$rported to ha)e anti)iral properties, to test whether there's anything to the laims!

More than 160 sientists from ell biology, gastrointestinal mediine, genomis, and other fieldswor for 9aetge in two b$ildings here! ;ne lab, on the sale of a hild's bedroom, is ept in near>

permanent twilight so light>sensiti)e dyes an ill$minate mirosopi m$sle fibers and the ner)esthat ontrol them! "n samples of yo$ng m$sle, the ner)es glow andy>apple red and onnet to eahfiber in tight irles of eletri green! .s tiss$e ages, the ner)es t$rn spindly and faded! 7he moreirreg$lar the green, the worse the interfae and ontrol of the m$sleOmeaning more falls,weaness, and general derepit$de!

. seond room, de)oted to the brain, ontains a laser>powered mirosope the si4e and olor of asmall barbe$e grill! "ts ob is to reord, as often as %,000 times a seond, the ati)ity of indi)id$al

brain ells on lab slides! ealthy ne$rons, displayed in b$bble>g$m pin on a nearby monitor, areeletrial dynamos that fire a ne)er>ending asade of signals! +esearhers here are st$dying.l4heimer's disease, whih strangles ne$rons, bloing the lins that allow the brain to f$ntion!-lowly those ne$rons go dar! No dr$g has managed to halt the progression!

9aetge arg$es that food o$ld be the basis for an entirely new type of mediationOboth pre)enti)etreatments and therapies for a$te disease! r$gs deli)ered as foodst$ffs might, in his telling, bl$ntthe impat of aging, ease the symptoms of hroni illnesses s$h as diabetes, and e)en slow delinesin ognition! ood is heap, plentif$l, and familiar! "t Dreally t$rns the pharmae$tial model on itshead, he says! Dow do we ati)ate the biggest dr$g that we tae e)ery dayL

M$h of what's being done at the instit$te is D$st lie pharma, 9aetge says! D7hey're sreeningnew hemial entities, and we're sreening nat$ral prod$ts, espeially ones that ome from food,s$h as etrats or p$rified mole$les from m$shrooms, tomatoes, and other plants! is team has

b$ilt a library of more than %0,000 s$h ompo$nds to try!

;ne dream ahie)ement is personali4ation, $sing data on an indi)id$al's diet and health history todesign bespoe s$ites of agents that o$ld be deli)ered in a aps$leOimagine a Nespresso pod,

perhaps, b$t for high holesterol! 9aetge also has the $se of an array of gleaming geneti se?$ening

mahines! Bnderstanding the geneti fators that mae some people lose or gain weight o$ld allow Nestlé to sell slimming plans $stomi4ed to an indi)id$al ons$mer's genotype!

#reg Behar is another Nestlé e$ecuti%e who doesn!t eat too many :it:ats! . hampion swimmer who a)erages 20,000 steps a day on his Pawbone fitness traer, he heads Nestlé ealth -iene, as$bsidiary reated alongside 9aetge's p$re researh arm and intended to ommeriali4e itsdiso)eries! 9ehar has a staff of more than #,000 and a direti)e to de)elop Da new ind$stry betweenfood and pharmae$tials! 7he gro$p has bo$ght staes in start$ps s$h as .era, in 9o$lder,Colo!, whih maes a powdered shae it says may benefit people with .l4heimer's disease!

https://www.nestlehealthscience.com/https://www.nestlehealthscience.com/


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9ehar says Nestlé ealth -iene has the potential to be a b$siness with 10 billion frans in ann$alre)en$e! ()en at the world's biggest food ompany, that's a lot! Confetionery sales totaled abo$t /

billion frans last yearH an additional 15 billion ame from mil prod$ts and ie reamH and powdered and li?$id be)erages, parti$larly offee, ao$nted for abo$t 1/ billion!

.ltho$gh researh at 9aetge's instit$te hasn't yet led to any at$al prod$tsOsomething ee$ti)essay will soon hangeONestlé ealth -iene has a stable of brands from its a?$isitions and its ownde)elopment wor! 7he di)ision already has abo$t 2 billion frans of re)en$e per year from do4ensof eisting prod$ts! .mong them are 9eta?$i, a millie drin for people with epilepsy, amongother onditions, and Meritene +egener)is, a fla)ored drin mi for fatig$e and m$sle f$ntion! or aner patients, it sells +eso$re -$pport 8l$s, a high>protein drin a)ailable in soft )anilla and

pl$m>mango! or the obese there's ;ptifast, a line of shaes, so$ps, and sna bars intended to betaen $nder the s$per)ision of a dotor! -ome of the prod$ts are reg$lated as Dmedial foods by the.!

9ehar, %6, oined Nestlé in 201% from German pharma giant 9oehringer "ngelheim! -ipping a bottleof 3ittel water another ompany brand, he happily lays o$t his woro$t ro$tine! e trains for atleast an ho$r e)ery morning, hitting the pool at 6 a!m! and biing more than 10 miles a wee! eompetes in se)en or eight triathlons a year, and he holds the -wiss reord for his age gro$p in the200>meter bastroe! e was one of the first adopters of the Pawbone band, in part bea$se his

brother is J)es 9éhar , the ind$strial designer responsible for its loo! ()er on message, he reditssome of his )itality to a daily shot of +egener)is! D"t's $st a sahet, and yo$ mi it with water, hesays! D"t's a m$h better feeling than taing a pill!

9ehar says many more prod$ts are on the way, for mobility, gastrointestinal health, and the brain,among other areas! 8robiotis, or so>alled good bateria for the g$t, and mies of proteins and)itamins for oints and bones are areas of fo$s! . final>stage linial trial is planned on a Dfood>

based treatment for Crohn's disease! 7here will also be Dinno)ation fairly ?$ily in ogniti)ef$ntionA memory, mood, aniety! "n these areas we are right now de)eloping prod$ts, he says!

or the most part, the onepts Nestlé is woring on won't appear in the maretplae as, say, a fewetra ingredients in a Cr$nh bar! D"f yo$ find something really breathro$gh and $st sprinle it inyo$r yog$rt, good l$ getting a few more ents for it, says olfgang +eihenberger, a former

Nestlé hief finanial offier! e's now at "n)entages, a )ent$re apital f$nd fo$sed on the $ntion

of food and health, in whih Nestlé is a maor in)estor! "nstead, Nestlé plans to sell its de)elopments

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-14/nestle-revenue-beats-estimates-on-nescafe-nespresso-coffeehttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-01-24/yves-b-har-the-designer-as-entrepreneurhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-14/nestle-revenue-beats-estimates-on-nescafe-nespresso-coffeehttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-01-24/yves-b-har-the-designer-as-entrepreneur


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primarily as standalone medial prod$ts, whih ommand higher margins and fae less ompetitionthan s$permaret foods!

"f maing ons$mers fat has been big b$siness, maing them healthy o$ld be bigger! 7he pharmae$tial ind$stry is worth *1 trillion a year and growing! espite the sale of the potentialrewards, the finanial world isn't ?$ite s$re what to mae of Nestlé's ategorial leap! "ntrod$ing anin>depth report on the transformation in Pan$ary, ons$mer analysts at rane's (ane 9N8 8aribassaid they Dare not pharma eperts and needed to bone $p on the b$siness with olleag$es! 7he netmonth, Credit -$isse analysts fretted that Nestlé o$ld be straying too far from its ore, with littlelarity on how ompetiti)e it will be Dsho$ld 9ig 8harma hoose to lo horns!

7hat ass$mes Nestlé an e)en get its new prod$ts past go)ernment agenies! 7he f$44y border of food and dr$gs, taing in ill>defined ategories s$h as Df$ntional foods and Dn$trae$tials, isdominated by pse$dosientifi s$pplements of d$bio$s health benefit, often $st a step ahead of reg$lators! "n 201# the . warned .era, one of Nestlé's new partners, that it onsidered theompany's .ona drin to be an D$nappro)ed new dr$g, gi)ing amm$nition to plaintiffs seeing alass>ation s$it who arg$ed they'd been d$ped into thining it wo$ld ameliorate .l4heimer's! 7hes$it was settled o$t of o$rtH .era says it responded to the .'s onerns and .ona remainsa)ailable, tho$gh .era has sine t$rned to more traditional dr$g de)elopment!

Many dotors and health ati)ists are intensely septial of n$tritional aids of all inds, and aompany that's essentially domiiled in Candyland might not be the ideal andidate to hange their mind! .fter all, one of the best things many people o$ld do for their body wo$ld be to eat far less of what Nestlé has spent more than a ent$ry selling! De ha)e nown for deades what people sho$ld

be eating to be healthy, and that's a balaned diet of whole foods, says Mar -hat4er, the a$thor of The Dorito Effect , a 2015 boo abo$t the siene of food! is brother, (ri -hat4er, wors for 9loomberg 7ele)ision! Dhen it omes to basi n$trition, magi pills and magi drins ha)e ne)er wored! e addsA DGenerally speaing, the more we mess with food, the more we srew it $p!

$$on&obil aside" it would be hard to name a cor'oration that's attrated as m$h all>timenegati)e attention from en)ironmental and h$man>rights ati)ists o)er the years as Nestlé! 9eginningin the 1/Q0s, ampaigners a$sed the ompany of $sing o)erly aggressi)e mareting to pers$ademothers to b$y baby form$la instead of breast>feeding! 7hey pointed to sometimes tragi res$lts,

with mothers miing form$la with ontaminated water to streth their s$pply, th$s siening or illing their infants! 7he res$lting boyotts and protests lasted into the 2000s and shaped the )iews of


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a generation of ati)ists! More reently, Greenpeae introd$ed a withering ampaign that a$sed Nestlé of ontrib$ting to the destr$tion of rain forests, and the animals li)ing in them, by b$yingfrom $nsr$p$lo$s palm oil plantations! . )iral )ideo showed a :it:at wrapper being opened tore)eal an orang$tan's se)ered finger, and protesters infiltrated the ompany's 2010 ann$al generalmeeting, hiding in the rafters to $nf$rl banners!

Now, Nestlé says it belie)es Dbreast mil is the ideal food for newborns and infants and that itonforms to orld ealth ;rgani4ation g$idelines on form$la maretingH it also agreed to stop

b$ying palm oil from plantations lined to deforestation! anting to be seen as a more responsibleator, Chief (e$ti)e ;ffier 8a$l 9$le has set a )ariety of obeti)es in ategories s$h asred$ing arbon emissions, inreasing the welfare of farmers, and onser)ing water! 7he effort is

baed by an etensi)e p$bli>relations ampaign, and an ann$al progress report, Creating Shared Value, r$ns to more than #00 pages!

7he ompany's lear preo$pation, tho$gh, is with reb$tting the harge of ompliity in soaringobesity rates! Nestlé says it's grad$ally red$ing s$gar, salt, and sat$rated fat where it an and trying

to help hildren learn Dto balane good n$trition with an ati)e lifestyle! "t's rolled o$t lower>s$gar )ersions of ereals s$h as Cheerios, and some boes of -marties are separated into three ardboardompartments of 15 andies eah to n$dge ons$mers toward eating less!

Nestlé's health efforts will still ha)e to ontend with a $mbo t$b of septiism filled to the brim by past battles! D" annot belie)e there's any food prod$t that really impro)es health, says Na)eed-attar, a professor of metaboli mediine at the Bni)ersity of Glasgow, who's tried to meas$re thehealth effets of ingredients laimed to ha)e disease>fighting properties! "nstead, -attar says, themost s$refire way to ameliorate many serio$s p$bli>health hallenges wo$ld be for people simply toeat a lot less! 7hat, of o$rse, translates diretly into money lost for food ompanies!

(ager to show there's a solid basis for its ideas, Nestlé has b$ilt a ##,000>s?$are>foot s$ite for h$manlinial trials in @a$sanne, deorated in a minimalist style that alls to mind a -andina)ian airportterminalH it was ertified as a health faility by the loal a$thorities! "t's r$n by Ma$rie 9ea$mont, a

o)ial former renh .ir ore dotor who st$died slow>release affeine for military pilots! ;ne of the hallenges was deli)ering a deent olt witho$t too m$h of a di$reti effet in bathroom>freeopits! e's parti$larly pro$d of a homemade Dindiret alorimeter, a gadget that loos lie a

pool lo$nger enased in 8leiglas, festooned with )al)es and sensors, and meas$res the energy b$rnand oygen ons$mption of the typially o)erweight person inside!

7he irony of Nestlé st$dying obesity remedies is abo$t as s$btle as the gl$ose load of Nes?$i

ereal, whih has 25 grams of s$gar in a 100>gram ser)ing! .ltho$gh the ompany's efforts areommendable, it's Dselling prod$ts on one side that might ontrib$te to these illnesses, says @eithGreenslade, head of the nongo)ernmental organi4ation P$st.tions! D;n the other side, they'refinding treatments for these illnesses! -ome might all that a onflit of interest!

Stefan (atsicas is the elegant embodiment of Nestlé!s on)ition that there's no onflit! .?$adriling$al -wiss ne$rosientist who beame hief tehnology offier in 201# after a areer in

pharma and aademia, his offie in 3e)ey drips with good taste! . triptyh of abstrat olor>blo paintings faes a meeting table laden with Nespresso>branded hoolates and bottles of 3ittel and

-an 8ellegrino! 7here's a single p$rple orhid and, on the floor, a gift bag of Cailler hoolate! ;n aspeta$larly s$nny riday morning, Catsias wears a bl$e>and>white>heed shirt with a bl$e tie,

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na)y bla4er, and gray tro$sers! is lightly aented (nglish is risp, and his media trainingimpeable!

D-$gar is not additi)e, Catsias says! DJo$ get habit$ated to s$gar, whih is not being addited!-hortly after he ame to Nestlé, Catsias grad$ally p$t less s$gar in his morning offee, $tting o$t

abo$t 10 perent at a time! ithin three months, he says pro$dly, he was taing it bla! "n anho$rlong dis?$isition on Nestlé's efforts to mae its ore prod$ts healthier while also )ent$ring intomediine, Catsias says the ompany badly wants to Dbe part of the sol$tion to obesity! 7hat desire,he arg$es, reflets e)ol)ing sientifi $nderstanding! D7en years ago, my predeessor o$ld ha)e saidwe didn't really now abo$t the sale of the problem, he says! Now, De)erybody nows that there isan iss$e!

ho new what and when may be a s$bet of more than aademi onern! D"f a lass>ation gro$pof lawyers an determine that food ompanies ha)e nown $st how toi s$gar le)els are, they willdo what they')e done to the tobao ind$stry, says 8eter Pones, a n$tritional sientist at theBni)ersity of Manitoba!

Catsias reets the omparison to igarettes, swiftly o$ntering that altho$gh there's no s$h thingas a safe igarette, there's ertainly safe food! "n his narrati)e, e)en tho$gh 9ig ood needs to do

better, it's been $nfairly tarred with responsibility in a omple debate o)er diet, eerise, andlifestyle! 9esides, he says, it's $ltimately $p to indi)id$als to mae healthy hoies! .nd if theysho$ld happen to get si, Nestlé wants to be there for them!

nestlé wants to sell you both sugary snacks and diabetes pills

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