Nestle (Kuala Lumpur: 4707.KL - news) , the world's biggest food group, named Luis Cantarell head of its nutrition business on Tuesday to replace Kurt Schmidt who is leaving for personal reasons.

The Vevey-based maker of Nescafe coffee, KitKat chocolate bars and Maggi soup said Cantarell, who was instrumental in setting up the nutrition division a decade ago, would run the unit in addition to his role leading Nestle Health Science.

"The decision to bring Nestle Nutrition and Nestle Health Science under the same leadership is in line with Nestle (BSE: NESTLE.BO - news) 's strategic focus to further strengthen and develop the company's presence in global nutrition," it said in a statement.

It said Schmidt was leaving as of December 1 to pursue opportunities outside nestle.

Nestle set up its health science company under Cantarell last year, as well as a research institute to develop medical foods, as food manufacturers compete with pharmaceutical companies for a foothold in the growing sector.

Cantarell led the nutrition division between 2001 and 2005.

The nutrition business, which makes infant formula and cereals as well as sports and diet foods, saw sales grow an organic 6.6 percent in the first nine months to 5.8 billion Swiss francs $6.19 billion (3.86 billion pounds).

In April, Nestle announced it was to buy U.S. drugmaker Pfizer (BSE: PFIZER.BO - news) 's baby food business for $11.85 billion as it seeks dominance of fast-growing emerging markets.

(Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

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Nestle names Cantarell new head of nutrition unit

Nestle SA (NESN) said the head of its nutrition unit resigned a year after taking the job, resulting in the third change of leadership for the business since 2009.

Kurt Schmidt will give up the position in December, leaving for personal reasons and to pursue other opportunities, the Vevey, Switzerland-based food company said today in a statement. Luis Cantarell, 60, the chief executive officer of Nestle Health Science, will also manage the nutrition division, which is in the process of completing the $11.9 billion acquisition of Pfizer Inc.s infant-nutrition unit.

The change caps a decade during which Nestle has repeatedly organized and reformed a business central to its strategy of being the worlds leading nutrition, health and wellness company. Annual sales growth of the nutrition unit has never met a long-term goal of 10 percent set six years ago. Its Jenny Craig weight-loss service has been suffering from weaker U.S. consumption, while Nestle failed to expand the PowerBar brand of performance nutrition products beyond the market of athletes.

Theyve had problems with Jenny Craig, performance nutrition isnt doing all that well and theyll have to integrate Pfizer pretty soon, so Schmidt may have been under pressure, said Jean-Philippe Bertschy, an analyst at Bank Vontobel in Zurich. They may have wanted to get a veteran Nestle manager at the head of the business.

Cantarell, who ran the nutrition unit from 2001 to 2005 and has worked more than three decades at Nestle, has experience of integrating acquisitions such as its Gerber baby-food business and has helped reshape Nestles business portfolio, for example by halting ice-cream production in Germany, Bertschy said. Cantarell will probably remain head of the nutrition unit for the coming two to three years, he said.

Schmidt took charge of the division last year when his predecessor, Nandu Nandkishore, a temporary replacement for Richard Laube, became head of Nestles business in Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Middle East. Schmidt had previously headed Nestles infant nutrition business in North America.

It certainly hasnt been easy sailing at Nestles nutrition business, and there has been a bit of a revolving door in terms of executives, said Jon Cox, head of Swiss research at Kepler Capital Markets in Zurich. Cantarell is a very, very safe pair of hands. He was a bit under-utilized at the health science business.

The nutrition unit had a 6.6 percent increase in nine-month adjusted revenue, with total sales of 5.8 billion Swiss francs ($6.2 billion), the Swiss food company said earlier this month.

Nestle is putting the health science business and nutrition under the same manager two years after it decided to split them up. The Swiss company formed health science to develop products to treat chronic diseases and conditions such as obesity.

There is bound to be closer coordination in terms of R&D efforts, Cox said. I never understood why health science was ripped out of the nutrition division in the first place -- ultimately what is discovered and developed has to be levered back into nutrition and the rest of the group.

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Nestle Nutrition Unit Gets Third New Chief in Three Years

The Infant Nutrition Council (INC) today expressed strong concern over the sponsorship deal between the Warriors rugby league club and Chinese-owned New Zealand infant formula company Fernbaby.

INC CEO Jan Carey said it is not in the interests of New Zealands reputation internationally for the Warriors to be promoting any infant formula brand.

"The infant formula industry in New Zealand has worked hard to make sure its marketing practices are ethical, to ensure that the important role of breastfeeding is not undermined," Ms Carey said.

"This sponsorship steps outside industry practice which restricts promotion to parents."

Ms Carey said the INC, which represents the interests of the infant formula industry in New Zealand, advocates optimal nutrition for all infants. Its members adhere to a voluntary Code of Practice which restricts advertising infant formula directly to the public. This Code is part of New Zealand's response to the World Health Organisation International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes (WHO 1981) (WHO Code) which prescribes how information about infant formula can be marketed.

"We fully support the importance of encouraging and maintaining breastfeeding for as long as possible. Breast milk contains all of the essential nutrients, antibodies, and other factors important for growth and development, and they cannot be replicated by any infant formula product.

"This sponsorship deal, which will see Warriors players in the 2013 National Youth Competition and those in the 2014 and 2015 NRL team promoting an infant formula product on their uniforms, will undermine important breastfeeding messages and the Code of Practice in New Zealand," Ms Carey said.

"The INCs objective is to improve infant nutrition by supporting the public health goals for the protection and promotion of breastfeeding and, when needed, infant formula as the only suitable alternative.

"It is important that all companies manufacturing and marketing infant formula in New Zealand understand this and act responsibly by complying with both the voluntary marketing Code and the regulatory regime."

The INC believes that breast milk provides an infant with the best source of nutrition, and that breastfeeding, with its numerous benefits for both mothers and babies, is the normal way to feed an infant.

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Infant Nutrition Council concerned with sponsorship deal

The new owners of Ocean Nutrition say they are going to spend millions of dollars expanding their operations in Dartmouth and Mulgrave.

Dutch multi-national Royal DSM bought Ocean Nutrition earlier this year for $540 million and promised to take the fish oil operation global.

On Thursday DSM executives were in Dartmouth announcing a North American wide re-organization.

"We are planning to make a number of multi-million dollar investments in Nova Scotia," said Rick Greubel, DSM's President of Human Nutrition and Health. "Not just in Dartmouth but also in Mulgrave."

Rick Greubel said employment will grow in technology, manufacturing and research and development.

Ocean Nutrition is already a leader in the production of fish oils and concentrates used in food additives. The research being done in Nova Scotia will now expand to include processing other marine and plant life.

Along with the expansion there is some contraction in Nova Scotia. Some jobs are being moved to New Jersey.

The company will not say how many people are effected by the transfer of sales and marketing. But over all DSM said the present Nova Scotia workforce of 200 will grow.

"At the end of all of our investments and transition, that number will increase by 10 to 20 per cent," said Greubel.

So while some Ocean Nutrition jobs are going, more will be created. The Nova Scotia operation has found a place in the global supply chain.

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Ocean Nutrition to expand in Nova Scotia