Nestlé will prioritise products with nutritional needs for the older generation as global birth rates fall, according to its CEO.

Global chief executive Mark Schneider said that focusing on nutrition in the older category presented a “real opportunity” for the food and drinks manufacturer.

“You’re seeing there is a longer-term secular trend towards globally lower birth rates,” said Schneider, reported The Financial Times.

“The 50+ age group in most countries around the world is going to increase significantly over the next 10 to 20 years. With that, and with the specific nutritional needs of that age group, there is an opportunity for us.”

Schneider added that Nestlé was working on developing products that best addressed the concerns of an aging population, including weight maintenance, muscle mass preservation, and controlling blood sugar levels.

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Nestlé’s portfolio already consists of a range of specialised nutritional, such as infant formula, vitamins and supplements, protein powders and fortified drinks.

Just last month it announced it was to launch a range of protein-enriched frozen foods to cater to consumers who use weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy.

However Nestlé’s CEO stressed that the FMCG’s move to expand its portfolio and diversify its offer in its specialised nutrition category beyond its infant formula products, which last year made up 15% of the FMCG giant’s profits, will not mean it will totally abandon its current lines.

Schneider said: “We’re not walking away from what we got started on, which is infant nutrition.”

“But we do see that in most economies around the world, the bigger demographic opportunity is among the middle aged and elderly.”

The recent news comes amid Nestlé announcing last year it was closing an infant formula factory in China, amid soft demand in the country due to a sharp fall in birth rates.

Elsewhere, Nestlé shareholders also recently criticised the company for not investing enough in its nutritional portfolio, and urged the company to “stop selling so much chocolate” in a failed rebel HFSS reform bill.