Nestlé Launches New Infant Milk Formula

"This product is aimed at the premium end of the market and will complement other products meant for the mainstream and affordable segments," he told LBO. "It will be priced higher than our 'mainstream' products."

Aug 08 2011 --- Sri Lanka's Nestlé unit has launched an up-market infant milk formula as June 2011 quarter profit rose by half amid rising personal incomes and accelerating economic growth after the end of a war. Nestlé Lanka managing director Alois Hofbauer said the 'Neslac Excella 1+' growing-up-milk formula was developed by Nestlé's research centre at Lausanne, Switzerland for children between the ages of one to three.

"This product is aimed at the premium end of the market and will complement other products meant for the mainstream and affordable segments," he told LBO. "It will be priced higher than our 'mainstream' products."

The new infant milk formula offers a combination of DHA and Prebiotics for children at a time when mental and physical growth is happening and their nutritional needs increase, said Nadeesha Chandrasekera, nutrition, health and wellness manager at Nestle Lanka.

DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is an Omega- 3 essential fatty acid which is an important element in human nutrition, believed to aid in the function of the brain from infancy, that in Nestle's product is derived from fish oil.

Prebiotics are a fibrous entity that promotes the intestinal growth of certain bacteria thought to be beneficial for gut health, a company statement said.

Hofbauer said the company is to invest 10 billion rupees in the island in the next few years to expand manufacturing capacity, particularly in the dairy industry.

"This year we've already invested over 2.5 billion rupees. We will massively increase manufacturing capacity."