Lactalis International agreed to buy an infant-formula business from Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. for 739.8 million euros ($860 million) to target the fast-growing Chinese market.

France: Lactalis International decided to buy an infant-formula business from Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. for USD 860 million as the French dairy group to target the fast-growing Chinese market.

This move will allow the company to tap rising demand for baby-food in Asia’s biggest economy. Also, Chinese clients have exhibited a preference for foreign brands in the wake of a disgrace that poisoned thousands of children a decade ago.  The company said that the operation will fast-track the group’s development on the global nutrition market and this will also be balancing to the existing nutrition business.

Moreover, the Aspen’s infant formula unit contributed more than 3 billion rand ($206 million) to revenue and 512 million rand to profit in the year. The company has been using the division to drive a push into China, where it gained support to sell its Alula formula products earlier this year.

As far as it matters for Aspen, the deal will empower Africa's greatest drug maker to center around its fundamental pharmaceutical activities, the Durban, South Africa-based organization said in a different articulation. The organization offers items, for example, hormones, anesthetics and anti-retroviral medicines in more than 150 nations and has been measuring alternatives for the infant formula division, referred to inside the firm as global nutritionals, for the greater part of the year.

According to TechSci Research, the move will enable the company to tap rising demand for baby-food market across the globe. Moreover, this will accelerate the group’s development on the global nutrition market. Owing to growing number of malnutritional cases and rising health concerns towards overall development of the baby, global baby food market grew at a moderate pace over the last few years. According to the World Bank, percentage of women joining the labor force stood at 55.28% in 2014, and this number is witnessing consistent y-o-y rise. Furthermore, increasing awareness among people about the various health benefits of feeding baby foods to infants and young babies is further fueling demand for baby foods across the globe. These factors are anticipated to propel global baby food market through 2022. Factors propelling global baby food market include increasing population, growing urbanization, rising disposable income and changing lifestyles across the globe. Moreover, increasing spending on children healthcare coupled with continuous innovation and aggressive marketing by various baby food manufacturers is fueling demand for baby foods, globally.

According to the recently published report by TechSci Research, “Global Baby Food Market By Product Type (Milk Formula, Dried Baby Food, etc.), By Point of Sale (Grocery Retail, Supermarket / Hypermarket, etc.), By Age (< 6 Months, 6-12 Months, etc.), By Region, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2012 - 2022”,  the global baby food market is forecast to surpass $82 billion by 2022. In 2016, milk formula segment garnered the largest market share in the global baby food market, and this trend is anticipated to continue during the forecast period. Moreover, in 2016, Asia-Pacific dominated global baby food market, followed by Europe, North America, Middle East & Africa, and South America. Few of the major players operating in the global baby food market include Nestle, Mead Johnson, Danone, Abbott, and Heinz

According to the recently published report by TechSci Research, “Europe Packaged Food Market By Product Type (Ready Meals, Baked Goods, Baby Food, Dressing & Condiments, etc.), By Packaging Type (Paper & Board, Rigid Plastic, Flexible Packaging, Metal & Others) Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2012–2022”, Europe packaged food market stood at $ 796 billion in 2016, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 1.9% during 2017 – 2022, to reach $ 892 billion by 2022. Continuing increase in disposable income of consumers coupled with rise in number of household units is contributing to the growth in the sales of packaged food products in Europe. With technological advancements, product innovations and busy lifestyle of consumers, the popularity of packaged food products in Europe is continuously increasing.