BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — Nestlé Health Science said Monday it is stepping up its global hunt for science-backed nutrition ideas by deepening partnerships with universities and startup incubators in three growth areas: women’s health, healthy longevity and weight management. The company said the goal is to move research faster from discovery to market, Nov. 3, 2025.
In its announcement of the university incubator alliances, the unit said it will work with the University of California, Davis Innovation Institute for Food & Health, Australian Catholic University in Melbourne and Tufts University’s Food & Nutrition Innovation Institute to provide mentorship, internships, professional development and scientific advisory support.
Nestlé Health Science links campus partners to its R&D accelerator
In a release focused on the UC Davis agreement, Nestlé Health Science said the partnership will combine startup development support with research priorities centered on women’s health, healthy longevity and weight management. The company said the UC Davis collaboration will also include student and employee engagement and education activities.
In its news release, the UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food & Health said the collaboration is meant to help move discoveries into scalable solutions and will also touch metabolic health and gastrointestinal conditions. Justin Siegel, the institute’s faculty director, said, “This partnership exemplifies how UC Davis builds collaborations that carry discovery into impact.”
“Working alongside academic institutions provides valuable scientific insight,” said Eugenia Oton, head of the Nestlé Product Technology Center for Nestlé Health Science.
In Australia, Nestlé Health Science is backing a campus-based incubator intended to bring researchers and startups together, according to Australian Catholic University’s announcement. Professor Leonidas Karagounis, who conceived the program, said the partnership will help drive nutrition and health research into “real-world impact.”
The unit said the university pipeline is meant to complement internal R&D, including its R&D Accelerator housed within the Nestlé Product Technology Center in Bridgewater, which it said was inaugurated in 2018.
In a corporate overview of the initiative, Nestlé said the partnerships are part of an “open innovation” approach aimed at pulling academic expertise and entrepreneurial ideas into the company’s nutrition science work.
Earlier moves by Nestlé Health Science
The university push follows a series of moves by the nutrition unit as weight management and healthy aging draw more consumer and clinical attention. In a 2024 Reuters report, Nestlé Health Science launched a web platform aimed at nutritional support for people on weight-loss programs, including those using GLP-1 medicines.
Tufts University’s news site reported in 2024 that Keto Kind and Superfrau won the Nestlé Health Science Innovate Forward: The Longevity Challenge, earning mentorship and technical support from the company and Tufts.
And in 2022, Nestlé Health Science agreed to acquire a majority stake in plant-based nutrition company Orgain. NutraIngredients reported at the time that the deal would expand the unit’s portfolio of protein-forward products.
Financial terms for the new university alliances were not disclosed. Nestlé Health Science said it expects mentorship, scientific advisory support and student engagement to help bring differentiated nutrition solutions to market.
