London/Zurich — Nestlé, the world’s largest packaged food firm, said on Wednesday it would reorganise its infant-nutrition business to improve performance, five months after the new CEO listed the category as one of its priorities for growth. The Swiss maker of Gerber baby food and Illuma formula will appoint regional managers for nutrition to deal with local trends faster. Rival Unilever took a similar step, naming business heads for different countries. The changes come as global consumer goods groups such as Nestlé, Unilever and Procter & Gamble are under intense investor pressure to boost profit margins as sales slow from consumers migrating to smaller, independent brands. Infant nutrition is a key battleground for Nestlé and its rivals Danone and Reckitt Benckiser, which bought Enfamil infant formula maker Mead Johnson. Big established brands still retain consumer trust that they have lost in other areas of packaged food, particularly in China, a major focus for future growth d...
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