Cow & Gate seeks new chief as Milupa deal sparks exits

Babyfood maker Cow & Gate Nutricia is looking for a marketing director in a shake-up which follows the acquisition of Milupa last year.

Milupa’s UK office in Hillingdon, West London, is being closed, with almost all the marketing department, including marketing director Adrian Kelly, opting for voluntary redundancy rather than relocation to Cow & Gate Nutricia’s office in Trowbridge, Wiltshire.

Kelly has been asked to stay on into the new year to help with the transition.

Former Cow & Gate marketing director Niall Bowen to become commercial director of the clinical nutrition business under the Nutricia brand, which covers infant feeding in hospitals and on prescription.

A spokesman for Cow & Gate Nutricia says Bowen’s move to a board position is a result of the company’s expansion, and the growth of the clinical nutrition division, which is a faster-growing market than the mature baby feeding business.

Bowen’s successor will be responsible for the Cow & Gate and Milupa brands. The company spokesman says a replacement has not yet been appointed.

Cow & Gate Nutricia is a subsidiary of the Dutch food company Nutricia. It bought Cow & Gate – which has existed for about 100 years – from Unigate in 1981.