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Nestlé considers sale of VMS brands amid strategic refocus

Nestlé is reviewing the future of several of its vitamin, mineral, and supplement (VMS) brands.

The brands, including Nature’s Bounty, OSTEO BI-FLEX, and Puritan’s Pride, were acquired just four years ago when the conglomorate purchased The Bountiful Company for $5.75 billion.

The review, announced by CEO Laurent Freixe at Nestlé’s half-year results presentation, comes as the company looks to streamline operations and shift investment toward higher-margin, science-led brands such as Garden of Life and Solgar.

“We are... taking decisive measures to... focus our vitamins, minerals, and supplements business on winning premium brands,” said Freixe.

According to Nestlé’s half-year results for 2025, organic sales rose by 2.9%, but real internal growth was flat at 0.2%. Reported sales fell by 1.8% to CHF 44.2 billion (€45.5 billion), impacted by currency effects.

Acknowledging “negative impact from tariffs currently in place and current foreign exchange rates”, the company reaffirmed its profit margin target of at least 16% while highlighting “heightened risks from continuing macroeconomic and consumer uncertainties”.

Realignment across the nutraceutical industry?

In a LinkedIn post, Emily Austin, head of nutraceuticals and ingredients executive search at Hartmann Young, described the development as part of “major strategic moves in the nutraceutical sector”.

She noted that Nestlé’s VMS divestiture echoes similar developments at healthcare manufacturing company Lonza and ingredients company dsm-firmenich.

Lonza announced its plans to exit its capsules and health ingredients business in December last year, noting that the segment has faced weaker demand since the pandemic. The company’s share price rose significantly after the announcement.

Meanwhile, dsm-firmenich divested its omega-3 fish oil business to KD Pharma Group in October 2024, and sold its stake in the Feed Enzymes Alliance to Novonesis for €1.5 billion in June this year, as part of the process of exiting its animal nutrition and health business entirely.

Returning to core business

Austin said she expected to see increased demand for biopharma and nutraceutical contract manufacturing services, as well as more opportunities for omega-3, capsule manufacturing, and ingredients with high growth.

“Global players are exiting legacy nutraceutical units to sharpen their portfolio strategy,” she wrote.

Several industry insiders commented on the trend in response to Austin’s post.

Dmytro Sudak, sales director at Teva Pharmaceuticals, wrote: “This points to a shift from broad volume plays to margin-led precision. Large portfolios aren’t being broken up due to weakness, but to double down where science, differentiation, and value intersect.

“CDMOs benefit, but so do focused operators who know how to commercialize targeted health platforms.”

Christian Duchow, co-founder and director at Personalized Remedies, highlighted increased interest from investors and brands for their business, adding: “With AI making end users more informed, it’s increasingly difficult to justify legacy supplement brands that lack real efficacy.

“The market is shifting towards science-based solutions, and companies are adjusting accordingly.”

Christian Leighton, a nutrition and health consultant, described the trend as a course correction.

“A strong theme running through these examples is companies looking to focus on their cores – often, prior expansions beyond it turn out to be expensive mistakes that need to be rectified,” he wrote.