This is against the backdrop of a growing ageing population in China, as well as young parents becoming more particular about the types of nutrition that they are feeding their children with.
Mead Johnson China announced the two pronged strategy that focuses on “infants and toddlers + kids and adults” during the Boao Food for Health Science Conference and Expo (2025 FHE Conference) held on Hainan Island between February 17 and 21.
Developing nutritional products for the elderly is not a new endeavour for the company, but it said it would pay more attention into this area for this year.
Foods that can be more easily chewed by the seniors due to their declining chewing ability, is one category that the company has already worked on.
This was highlighted by Xiong Hui, the person-in-charge of Mead Johnson China’s R&D, quality and food safety during his presentation on how to improve protein intake among the elderly.
He also pointed out how the company has focused on functional dairy nutrition to meet the needs of middle aged and elderly consumers.
Examples include products under the brand Agijoy (每日悦享)，where the company has launched adult milk powder, protein powder, and products containing lactoferrin and colostrum.
Mead Johnson China’s strategy to build up both its infant and seniors nutrition business also mirrors the ongoing trend where infant nutrition companies expand their portfolio to include growing up kids and seniors to tackle the shrinking infant formula market.
Junlebao and Nestle China are example of companies that are active in both spaces.
Junlebao for example, has launched a milk powder for supporting calcium absorption among middle-aged and senior consumers.
New Zealand’s The a2 Milk Company is trekking a similar path with the launch of its fortified adult milk powder products designed to support gut, bone, and immunity in China.
In its latest financial results, the company said that the products were quickly sold out in a month’s time, partly due to the Chinese New Year gifting season and the company underestimating the market demand.
Healthy ageing, infant nutrition to take the spotlight at the Growth Asia Summit 2025
Healthy ageing, infant nutrition and kids nutrition are top of the agenda at the Growth Asia Summit 2025 taking place in Singapore from July 15 to 17. Find out more here.
China’s ageing rate mirrors the late 1990s Japan, but products lacking
China is likely to follow Japan’s footsteps when it comes to the ageing population, according to Stephen Zhang, partner at Primavera Capital - the company which bought over Mead Johnson Greater China business from Reckitt Benckiser back in 2021.
During his presentation on China’s demographic change and investment opportunities for health foods industry, Zhang said that China’s “silver economy” was at the early stage of booming.
In 2021, about 14 per cent of the Chinese population was above 65 years old and the rate of ageing was similar to that of Japan in the late 1990s.
As Japan’s ageing population climbed from 16 to 20 per cent, there was a rapid development in the country’s “silver economy” and launch of products catered to their specific needs.
However, the problem for the China market is that there has been a lack of products catered to elderly nutrition. Adding on to this is the issue of “incompatibility” between existing products and consumer needs.
He believes that in the future, as the “silver economy” matures, science-backed functional, and precision nutrition will hold an important position in the market, and will also see more funding.
Specialised nutrition for growing up kids
On the other hand, there are opportunities for kids nutrition products that meet diversified needs ranging from weight management to sleep and memory.
He explained that this was because young parents are becoming more interested in scientific formulation, as well as the quality and safety of the products.
Other categories that can be explored for kids nutrition include vision health, immunity, height growth, and gut health.
He believes that products designed for these specific needs can garner parents attention and the likelihood in purchasing the products.
The company has launched a range of kids nutrition products, including student milk powder, under the brand NutriPower (学优力).
