Nestlé, responsible for a significant portion of the country's brand foods (over 8,000 actually), has reached an agreement with Cellular Dynamics International for brain cells on which to test their products, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Researchers at Nestlé will use Cellular Dynamic's "developed and manufactured" brain cells (according to the company's website) to develop healthier, science-backed products, such as drinks, smoothies, and more, the WSJ reported. Though many pharmaceutical companies work with the bioengineering company regularly, Nestle will be its first food client.

In case you associate Nestlé with junk food and Crunch candy bars, the company has worked hard over the years to dispel that reputation. Their website brands them as the "world's leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness company" with a mission of "Good Food, Good Life" (don't worry, taste is still an emphasis). As the world's market for health and wellness food is projected to grow from an already robust $772 billion to nearly a trillion in 2018 (as per Time), Nestle's newfound partnership puts them in the front pack, if not in the lead.

In a world where people are living longer and inevitably developing some sort of disease, the Swiss company's scientific approach could more accurate pinpoint which foods are more likely to cause certain conditions. Some, of course, are skeptical of this approach, according to one professor of nutrition speaking with the WSJ.

If that professor is correct, Nestlé may be wasting a significant portion of their funds (no word on what the contract is worth or how much they're paying per brain cell); if he or she is wrong, however, Nestlé might be sitting on a gold mine. As the WSJ pointed out, the FDA has cracked down recently on companies propogating false, non-scientific claims for their products. With less competition (and perhaps added legitimacy for health claims), consumers might be more likely to opt for Nestlé products.

Based on my lack of scientific credentials and Cellular Dynamic's "about us" section of their website, it appears as if company is able to produce their own brain cells.

"We develop and manufacture fully functioning human cells in industrial quantities to precise specifications," goes the first line of the first of two brief paragraphs. "Our proprietary iCell Operating System (iCell O/S) includes true human cells in multiple cell types (iCell products), human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and custom iPSCs and iCell products (MyCell products)."