Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider bullish on Chinese market

Nestlé, one ofthe world's leading food companies, has been in China for more than 30 years. At the China Development Forum (CDF), CEO Mark Schneidertold CGTN he is bullish on the long-term growth of the Chinese market.

"We've been here for more than 30 years, very proud of that when throwing 43,000 people in this country and made a big bet on China," he said. "We've been very happy with this decision. We've been participating in this enormous development of the country’s economy."

Despite the slowing global economy,Nestlé has pledged to keep focused on RD. "In fact, we have the largest research and development spending on food and beverage," Schneider said, adding that the company has five RD centers in China.

"... Spending in most markets over time will go up and down, but consumers have become more discerning not only to push more, but also to push better quality," Schneider said. As for the newly adopted Foreign Investment Law in China, Mark Schneider said it will benefit the companybecause it'll bring new investment to the country as well as bolster the mid-to-long term prospects of the market.

The food company knows well how to combine its specialties with that of other companies as it completed the acquisition of the Starbucks packaged coffee business last year. Mark Schneider also eyes more opportunities in the Chinese market and said he will be happy if he can findgood acquisitions here.

As Chinese consumers turn to a healthier and more balanced diet these days, the Nestlé CEO said the company has made ready a group of 24 products for the shelves, based on roasted ground coffee.

Nestlé said it is cutting down the amount of sugar content and to make it a slower release, as a way of addressing increasing diabetes cases. "In addition to the fact that there is sometimes too much sugar in our diet, a lot of this gets released into the bloodstream very fast. So overall more whole grain products that tend to be slower release, lower amounts of sugar. I think this is the direction where research is developing," he explained.

(CGTN)