Nestlé has unveiled two new nutritional solutions, Materna Pre and Materna Nausea, designed to contribute to women’s fertility and ease some of the pregnancy-related symptoms women may experience, such as nausea and vomiting.
The demand for solutions to support women’s health is growing, with the market expected to record high single-digit growth1 over the next three years. Critical gaps exist when it comes to addressing specific needs related to conception, digestive discomforts during pregnancy as well as post-partum recovery. For example, up to 70% of pregnant women2 experience nausea and vomiting during the first trimester of pregnancy, or throughout their entire pregnancy. Women require specific nutrients to help them address these challenges. The launch of these new products aims to capture the opportunities of this underserved and promising market.
Serena Aboutboul, Senior Vice-President and Head of the Nutrition Business at Nestlé said, “Scaling up our maternal health offerings is a strategic business priority. Our expansion of the Materna range with these two new products reflects our commitment to providing women with tailored, science-based nutrition products and to supporting them before conception, during pregnancy and after childbirth. This will ultimately help enhance health outcomes for mothers and their babies.”
Materna Pre is the first product to launch that builds on results from the first-of-its-kind NiPPeR study. It is a patented nutritional blend that has been shown to reduce time-to-conception as well as to improve the nutritional status in women when taken during pre-conception. More products will follow at a later stage.
The NiPPeR study, carried out in conjunction with the EpiGen Global Research Consortium, followed over 1,700 women from preconception through pregnancy and post-birth to test the impact of a nutritional solution containing a blend of micronutrients, probiotics and myo-inositol. The unique blend was found to reduce the risk of complications, such as pre-term birth, when taken before and during pregnancy.
Isabelle Bureau-Franz, Head of R&D for Nutrition at Nestlé added, “We are thrilled to translate our cutting-edge science into these product innovations to support maternal health. Specifically, the launch of Materna Pre is the result of over a decade of scientific validation, and this work is a great example of how a public-private partnership can lead to the innovation of breakthrough solutions designed to meet the specific health needs of women and their babies.”
The new Materna Nausea, which contains natural ginger and vitamin B6, is scientifically proven to reduce the severity of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.
The company will launch the new products in Latin America in 2025, with plans to expand to other Zones and geographies at a later date.
These products are part of the company’s Nutrition portfolio, which is dedicated to providing science-based nutrition solutions at every life stage, including catering to maternal health needs across the entire motherhood journey.
1 Nestlé sources
2 Davis M. Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy: an evidence-based review. Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing. 2004;18(4):312–328.