There’s a worldwide investing opportunity in a corner of health care that’s each “significant and underappreciated,” in keeping with Barclays. The segment is clinical nutrition, which the bank defined as an area focused on patients who need specific supplemental nutrition due to chronic health care conditions or because they’re unable to eat. Barclays pointed to several growth drivers: “Rising chronic conditions, ageing populations and continued pressure on healthcare spending should proceed to support the expansion of this industry.” “Clinical nutrition provides supplemental nutrition for many who are malnourished and is a big and underappreciated opportunity value c.$19bn today, driven by strong underlying themes akin to ageing population, malnutrition and an increasing concentrate on self-care,” the bank said in an April 12 note. It expects the market will grow to $28 billion by 2030, with China’s share of the market rising from 20% to 25%. It predicts the China market particularly could see a shift toward enteral nutrition — also often known as tube feeding — and that its market share will grow from 20% currently to 46% by 2030. Stock picks Swiss food and beverage giant Nestle is in the most effective position to learn from that shift toward enteral nutrition, given its “leadership in innovation” and “consistent outperformance” in clinical nutrition, Barclays said. For Nestle, that shift can also be a catalyst for more growth in China because the market expands, the bank said. Barclays said French food company Danone’s medical nutrition business is a “hidden gem,” though it added that the onus is on its recent management to “unlock its full potential.” It noted that this unit forms a “meaningful” 12% of group sales and 18% of earnings before interest and taxes. “We view it as a ‘hidden jewel’ where we expect increased investment from the brand new management team,” Barclays said. “Because there’s a lot concentrate on trends in Chinese infant formula inside Danone’s large Specialised Nutrition division, we predict the incontrovertible fact that 40% of this division is medical and adult nutrition is neglected,” Barclays analysts wrote. ” We see medical nutrition as a natural hedge to Chinese infant formula, which has been impacted by declining birth rates for a lot of years.” German health care company Fresenius can also be a “clear beneficiary” of the shift toward enteral nutrition, because it’s set to leverage its leadership position in China in that area, the bank said. The bank said Fresenius is “unique available in the market” because it’s the one big player to be energetic in enteral and parenteral nutrition, allowing it to tap its strength in each areas in addition to capture a bigger available market, the bank said. Parenteral nutrition is delivered via injection when the digestive system just isn’t functioning properly. Referring to China, Barclays said: “Fresenius SE has the very best share in a market that’s 80% parenteral, putting it in a powerful position to capitalise on faster growth than in the remainder of the world. It also has a powerful position in enteral within the region, positioning it to learn from the high potential for growth.” — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.