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Medical nutrition

Medical nutrition Agency Consulting firm Experts Specialists Consultancy

Evaluate market opportunities, develop new solutions, and optimize patient pathways

For more than 30 years, Alcimed has been exploring the medical nutrition market. We support our clients in their innovation projects and in the development of new markets.

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    The challenges related to medical nutrition and clinical nutrition

    The global medical nutrition market was valued at $49 billion in 2022. It is divided into three segments: oral nutrition, enteral nutrition, and parenteral nutrition.

    The market comprises several types of players, most of whom are generalists:

    • Large agri-food groups such as Danone, Nestlé, and Lactalis
    • Health industry companies such as Abbot, Baxter, Fresenius, B. Braun, and Aguettant
    • There are also specialized players, such as Nutrisens, Nutriset and Unidiet

    The distribution of these products occurs via three different channels: pharmacies, hospitals, and home sales

    Due to the ongoing aging population, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, the development of malnutrition screening, and other factors such as the growing interest in personalized nutrition, the clinical nutrition market is a complex and constantly evolving ecosystem. Existing players and those who wish to enter the market face several challenges:

    Accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis and the growing importance of dietetics among consumers, personalized nutrition is rapidly developing in the market and pushing market players to evolve their product ranges. Many are therefore venturing into developing new products or services tailored to patients’ behaviors and genetic profiles, aiming to provide more targeted and personalized solutions. It is therefore necessary for market players to develop their hyper-segmentation strategies (such as consumers with food allergies, high-performance athletes, etc.) to meet increasingly precise and complex needs.

    How can the personalized nutrition market be penetrated in its environment? What services can be developed beyond the product to enhance the personalization of the nutritional approach?

    Health professionals, patients, and reimbursement organizations expect a high quality of offerings in terms of food safety and regulation. Market players now face particularly strict and evolving legislation.

    How can compliance with food safety standards be ensured for different patient profiles? What are the regulatory requirements in the market, and how can their compliance be ensured?

    Malnutrition is a key issue that affects the elderly and people suffering from cancer. Indeed, 20% of oncology deaths are due to malnutrition. Several products address this need (including oral nutritional supplements), but these solutions are not always appealing to patients, who become tired of “medicalized” offerings. There is thus a challenge for industry players to restore the enjoyment of food during therapy for sick people by innovating with textures and flavors. Another aspect is that existing formats are not always adapted to the situations of patients health journey (such as mobility or the need for rapid consumption), and an innovative solution becomes equally necessary in this case.

    What are the expectations and tendencies of sick people regarding orally-consumed food? What new formats, textures, and tastes can be developed to meet the demand?

    In the current context, industry players face significant cost constraints (cost of raw materials, complexities of production costs, streamlining purchasing in hospital settings, etc.). Medical nutrition faces the challenge of reducing these costs while preserving quality and safety.

    How can prices be optimized while complying with food standards and maintaining product and service effectiveness? What persistent strategies should be put in place to secure the supply chain and develop my product?

    The market is experiencing significant growth and increasing competition. In order to differentiate, players are seeking to address new needs, improve adherence, penetrate new distribution channels, expand internationally, leverage new technologies, and/or develop their offers to cover multiple aspects of the value chain (diagnostics, product offerings, service offerings, etc.).

    How can general nutrition players differentiate themselves from the competition? How can specialists optimize and enrich their offers? What growth strategy should be put in place in an increasingly coveted market?

    Driven by the evolving profiles of consumer-patients and reinforced by the development of home healthcare services (with an increasing number of providers – home healthcare companies – in this market), the trend of transparency and naturalness is becoming increasingly important, as is the case in the more traditional agri-food market.

    What are the expectations of sick people in terms of transparency and naturalness? How can packaging and labels be re-designed to meet these expectations?

      Tell us about your uncharted territory

      You have a project and want to discuss it with our explorers, write us!

      One of our explorers will contact you shortly.


      How we support you in your projects related to medical nutrition and clinical nutrition

      For over 25 years, Alcimed has been supporting clients in various issues related to nutrition, including in the medical nutrition market. We have conducted over 150 projects in this domain for different players, such as agri-food industry players and their nutritional divisions, medical device companies, specialized startups, and pharmaceutical laboratories with a focus on oncology.

      The diversity of our clients, the geographical areas that we explore, and the types of projects we conduct give us a global and in-depth understanding of the challenges and issues linked to the medical nutrition field.

      Our projects cover a wide range of topics such as market access strategies, R&D strategies, development of new products and services, in-depth studies of specific markets such as the development of homecare in certain regions, competitive analyses, optimizing patient care pathways, and much more!

      What they say

      • TCV_Nestle_HS_miniature_site_EN_min
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        Bernard Cuenoud

        Global Head of Research and Clinical Development

      • TCV_Danone_miniature_site_EN_min
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        Fabien DELAERE

        Impact Valuation Director, Healthcare Department

      • TCV_biomerieux_miniature_site_EN_min
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        Philippe Caillat

        Marketing Director

      Examples of recent projects carried out for our clients in medical nutrition

      • Developing an offering for the homecare market in clinical nutrition in Germany

        For a major player in the medical device industry, we conducted an investigation aiming to evaluate the challenges and opportunities in the enteral nutrition homecare market in Germany. The goal of our study was to identify the needs and expectations of homecare providers and determine potential market opportunities.

        To do so, our team conducted a market study by interrogating market experts (homecare providers, dieticians, neonatal doctors, pharmacists, etc.) to have an overview of the homecare market in clinical nutrition (and specifically enteral nutrition).

        This allowed our client to identify a list of short- and long-term opportunities to develop their activities in this segment.

      • Strategic acquisition audit of an oral medical nutrition player for an investment fun

        We supported an investment fund in their strategic audit of an oral clinical nutrition player.

        To do so, our team conducted a study of the concerned player and their strength in this market to determine the level of opportunity for our client to enter the French market and identify potential models of entry to achieve both quick wins and long-term optimal development. Our team also conducted a market analysis of different European countries (Germany, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom) to identify the key success factors in these countries.

        This study provided our client with an overview and helped their decision-making regarding investment in the company’s capital and support for its development.

      • State of the art and opportunity study in the field of oncology-focused clinical nutrition

        Alcimed helped a world leader in agri-food conduct a comprehensive study aiming to identify the technologies, innovative players, and associated opportunities in the field of nutritional support applied to cancer therapy.

        Through an in-depth literature review and discussions with experts and key opinion leaders (oncologists, nutritionist, specialized physicians, researchers, professional associations, etc.), our team was able to analyze the market and evaluate a list of opportunities for our client in terms of technologies, products, and potential targets or partners.

      • Defining a three-year strategy for a player in the clinical nutrition market

        Our client wanted to prepare their group’s three-year strategy for the market through a “wargame” workshop.

        Our team supported this event by conducting a comprehensive study of the market and competition.We then prepared and moderated the workshop day using models to guide the co-definition of the strategy by various stakeholders.

        Through this, our client could understand the positioning of the competition and draw conclusions that allowed them to develop a differentiated three-year strategy.

      • Characterization of the level of scientific evidence on the use of plant proteins in medical nutrition for adults

        Our client, an industrial leader wishing to develop plant protein-based medical nutrition products for adults, asked us to study the level of existing scientific evidence on the impact of plant proteins in medical nutrition for adults.

        To do this, we identified and analysed the scientific data available on the effects of plant proteins (pea and soya) on the metabolism of elderly and/or malnourished patients. We then assessed the relevance of essential amino acids (arginine, glycine, glutamine, glutamate) in improving the condition of these patients.

        This enabled us to provide our client with a summary of current knowledge in terms of the clinical relevance of consuming plant proteins compared with dairy proteins.

      • Support for a food industry player in exploring enzymatic applications in medical nutrition

        One of our customers, a leader in the agri-food sector, wanted to understand the opportunities offered by enzymes in the field of medical nutrition.

        We began by taking stock of the products currently available on the market containing enzyme ingredients. Our team then explored the benefits of enzymes beyond their traditional pharmaceutical uses.

        This enabled us identify innovative benefit niches for our client, on the basis of which we drew up recommendations as to the uses that appeared to be the most relevant for patients.

      You have a project?

        Tell us about your uncharted territory

        You have a project and want to discuss it with our explorers, write us!

        One of our explorers will contact you shortly.


        To go further

        Founded in 1993, Alcimed is an innovation and new business consulting firm, specializing in innovation driven sectors: life sciences (healthcare, biotech, agrifood), energy, environment, mobility, chemicals, materials, cosmetics, aeronautics, space and defence.

        Our purpose? Helping both private and public decision-makers explore and develop their uncharted territories: new technologies, new offers, new geographies, possible futures, and new ways to innovate.

        Located across eight offices around the world (France, Europe, Singapore and the United States), our team is made up of 220 highly-qualified, multicultural and passionate explorers, with a blended science/technology and business culture.

        Our dream? To build a team of 1,000 explorers, to design tomorrow’s world hand in hand with our clients.

        Medical nutrition is an optimized dietary approach that is integrated into health protocols to meet specific nutritional needs and improve the chances of patient recovery. It acts as a complementary treatment approach alongside medication and can equally have a preventative effect.

        Also known as clinical nutrition, it is intended for individuals with specific pathologies, including chronic diseases, acute illnesses, or nutritional disorders (malnutrition, cancer, coronary diseases, malabsorption, swallowing disorders, chronic digestive diseases, metabolic disorders, premature infants, etc.).

        The global medical nutrition market was valued at $49 billion in 2022. It is divided into three segments: oral nutrition, enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition.

        The market comprises several types of player, most of them generalists:

        • Major food groups such as Danone, Nestlé and Lactalis
        • Healthcare companies such as Abbott, Baxter, Fresenius, B. Braun and Aguettant
        • And specialist players such as Nutrisens, Nutriset and Unidiet.

        These products are distributed via three different channels: pharmacies, hospitals and home sales.