Danone Nutricia Research Singapore

Danone is a leading global food and beverage company built on four businesses: Essential Dairy and Plant-Based Products, Waters, Early Life Nutrition and Advanced Medical Nutrition. The company aims to inspire healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking practices in line with its vision ‘Danone, One Planet. One Health’, thereby reflecting a strong belief that the health of people and the health of the planet are interconnected.

Danone Nutricia Research – a Danone’s global research and innovation organization behind the Early Life Nutrition and Advanced Medical Nutrition divisions, aim to bring health through food to as many people as possible, and in particular to those who require special care.

“We focus our skills and resources to deliver evidence-based specialized nutrition to moms and babies, in order to help them build and establish their health capital during early life.” says Dr Rocio Martin, Director of Danone Nutricia Research Singapore.
Danone Nutricia Research Singapore was established in 2011 as the Asian satellite centre of one of the main research centres in the Netherlands. It was set up to connect with scientific experts and medical networks in Asia to consolidate its research and innovation in early life nutrition and support regional and local businesses through its scientific expertise and innovations. Additionally, the team works together with various healthcare partners and experts to educate parents and healthcare professionals about the importance of nutrition in early life. “This is all part of our nutritional commitment to support babies and mothers in their first 1,000 days”, explains Dr Martin. The right nutrition during this critical period has a profound impact on a child’s ability to grow, learn and thrive as well as the child’s lifelong health.
Key achievements of the research centre in Singapore include more than 20 ongoing or completed clinical studies and over 100 publications and scientific lectures. Furthermore, the centre has forged scientific partnerships to conduct clinical studies in 40 hospitals in 8 countries across the region. One of the key examples of such a partnership is the collaboration with A*STAR, National University of Singapore and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital to conduct Singapore’s most comprehensive birth cohort study, the GUSTO study (Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes), on how gut microbiota composition in early life could be early allergy indicators.

On March 14, 2018, the Precision Nutrition D-Lab (D-Lab) was launched to strengthen the research centre’s capabilities in providing novel, scientifically substantiated integrated nutritional solutions. “The D-Lab works at the crossroads of nutrition science and digital technologies and aims to be a leading centre on digital health solutions in early life”, adds Dr Martin. The D-Lab is run by over 35 professional researchers and equipped with digital-enabled data collection tools and data analytics to strengthen its position in pioneering research and innovation in early life nutrition. By adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, the centre is able to develop nutritional products and services that address the specific needs of the target population.

“To fully achieve this, we need to continue strengthening our capability by attracting and growing talents such as digital health experts, data scientists and professional researchers who are passionate about discovering insights about health and to inspire the development of tailored nutritional solutions that have a positive impact on health in early life”, mentions Dr Martin. Fortunately, in Singapore, the company is in the right place. Singapore’s plan to become the world’s first Smart Nation, its world-class universities that are leading on AI research, the city-state’s strategic location and the vibrant start-up ecosystem make Singapore the ideal location to develop, prototype and pilot the company’s digital nutrition solutions.

Apart from bringing a lot of new opportunities for the company, the digital revolution also entails enormous benefits for the parents, researchers and healthcare professionals. Digital tools can increase engagement between parents and healthcare professionals while strengthening collaboration between multiple parties to provide babies with better nutrition in early life. Harnessing digital technology in research enables researchers to discover new biological mechanisms, predict the risks of certain diseases and eventually drive long-term nutritional solutions. It also provides an exciting platform for partnerships between technology companies, healthcare professionals and researchers to devise practical evidence-based nutritional solutions. “Overall, as a result of capitalizing on technological advancements, I believe we are on the right track to facilitate more predictive and preventive care by bringing better targeted nutritional solutions”, concludes Dr Martin.

Danone Nutricia Research Singapore
30 Biopolis Street | Matrix Building #05-01B | Singapore | 138671
W: www.nutriciaresearch.com