Nestle to invest more in health food sector

Nestle SA, the world's largest food company by revenue, said on Monday that it will boost its investments in China's health food sector.

"Nestle will bring more products which target Chinese kids, the senior, pregnant women and (products) for critical care," said Luis Cantarell, president and CEO of Nestle Health Science SA.

The Chinese health food market was worth 105 billion yuan ($16.87 billion) in 2011, with an annual increase of 11.4 percent since 2006, said the State Food and Drug Administration.

According to the Beijing-based S&P Consulting, China's per capita spending on health food is $31 per year, which accounted for 0.07 percent of consumers' total annual consumption. By contrast, the figure in the United States and in the European Union is about 2 percent.