Nestl
Nestl is a Swiss transnational food and beverage company
headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest food company
in the world measured by revenues,[4][5] and ranked #72 on the Fortune
Global 500 in 2014.[6]
Nestls products include baby food, bottled water, breakfast
cereals, coffee and tea, confectionery, dairy products, ice cream, frozen
food, pet foods, and snacks. Twenty-nine of Nestls brands have annual
sales of over CHF1 billion (about US$1.1 billion),
[7]
including Nespresso, Nescaf, Kit
Kat, Smarties, Nesquik, Stouffers, Vittel, and Maggi. Nestl has 447
factories, operates in 194 countries, and employs around 339,000 people.
[1]
It is one of the main shareholders of LOreal, the worlds
largest cosmeticscompany.[8]
Nestl was formed in 1905 by the merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk
Company, established in 1866 by brothers George Page and Charles
Page, and Farine Lacte Henri Nestl, founded in 1866 by Henri
Nestl (born Heinrich Nestle). The company grew significantly during the
First World War and again following the Second World War, expanding its
offerings beyond its early condensed milk and infant formula products.
The company has made a number of corporate acquisitions,
including Crosse & Blackwellin 1950, Findus in 1963, Libby's in
1971, Rowntree Mackintosh in 1988, and Gerber in 2007.
Nestl has a primary listing on the SIX Swiss Exchange and is a
constituent of the Swiss Market Index. It has a secondary listing
on Euronext. In 2011, Nestl was listed No. 1 in the Fortune Global 500 as
the worlds most profitable corporation.[9] With a market capitalisation
of US$239.6 billion, Nestl ranked No. 11 in the FT Global 500 2014.
History
Nestls origins date back to 1866, when two separate Swiss enterprises
were founded that would later form the core of Nestl. In the succeeding
decades, the two competing enterprises aggressively expanded their
businesses throughout Europe and the United States.
In August 1867, Charles (US consul in Switzerland) and
George Page, two brothers from Lee County, Illinois, USA,
established the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company
in Cham, Switzerland. Their first British operation was opened
at Chippenham, Wiltshire, in 1873.
A 1915 advertisement for "Nestls Food", an early infant
formula
In September 1866, in Vevey, Henri Nestl developed milk-based baby
food, and soon began marketing it. The following year saw Daniel
Peterbegin seven years of work perfecting his invention, the milk
chocolate manufacturing process. Nestl was the crucial
co-operation that Peter needed to solve the problem of
removing all the water from the milk added to his
chocolate and thus preventing the product from
developing mildew. Henri Nestl retired in 1875 but the
company, under new ownership, retained his name
as Socit Farine Lacte Henri Nestl.
In 1877, Anglo-Swiss added milk-based baby foods to
their products; in the following year, the Nestl
Company added condensed milk to their portfolio, which
made the firms direct and fierce rivals.
In 1904, Franois-Louis Cailler, Charles Amde Kohler,
Daniel Peter and Henri Nestl participated in the
creation and development of Swiss chocolate, marketing
the first chocolate - milk Nestl.[12]
In 1905, the companies merged to become the Nestl and Anglo-Swiss
Condensed Milk Company and retaining that name until 1947, when the
name Nestl Alimentana SA was taken as a result of the acquisition of
Fabrique de Produits Maggi SA (founded 1884) and its holding company,
Alimentana SA, of Kempttal, Switzerland. Maggi was a major manufacturer
of soup mixes and related foodstuffs. The companys current name was
adopted in 1977. By the early 1900s, the company was operating factories
in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain. The First
World War created demand for dairy products in the form of government
contracts, and, by the end of the war, Nestls production had more than
doubled.
Nestl felt the effects of the Second World War immediately. Profits
dropped from US$20 million in 1938, to US$6 million in 1939. Factories
were established in developing countries, particularly in Latin America.
Ironically, the war helped with the introduction of the companys newest
product, Nescaf ("Nestls Coffee"), which became a staple drink of the
US military. Nestls production and sales rose in the wartime economy.
The logo that Nestl used until 1966
After the war, government contracts dried up, and consumers switched
back to fresh milk. However, Nestls management responded quickly,
streamlining operations and reducing debt. The 1920s saw Nestls first
expansion into new products, with chocolate-manufacture becoming the
companys second most important activity. Louis Dapples was CEO till
1937, when succeeded by douard Muller till his death in 1948.
The end of World War II was the beginning of a dynamic phase for Nestl.
Growth accelerated and numerous companies were acquired. In 1947
Nestl merged with Maggi, a manufacturer of seasonings and
soups. Crosse & Blackwell followed in 1950, as
did Findus (1963), Libbys (1971) and Stouffers (1973). Diversification
came with a shareholding in LOrealin 1974. In 1977, Nestl made its
second venture outside the food industry, by acquiring Alcon Laboratories
Inc.
In the 1980s, Nestls improved bottom line which allowed the company
to launch a new round of acquisitions. Carnation was acquired for $3
billion in 1984 and brought the evaporated milk brand, as well as CoffeeMate and Friskies to Nestl. The confectionery company Rowntree
Mackintosh was acquired in 1988 for $4.5 billion, which brought brands
such as Kit Kat,Smarties and Aero.
The first half of the 1990s proved to be favourable for Nestl. Trade
barriers crumbled, and world markets developed into more or less
integrated trading areas. Since 1996, there have been various
acquisitions, including San Pellegrino (1997), Spillers Petfoods (1998),
and Ralston Purina (2002). There were two major acquisitions in North
America, both in 2002 in June, Nestl merged its US ice cream business
into Dreyer's, and in August a US$2.6 billion acquisition was announced
of Chef America, the creator of Hot Pockets. In the same time-frame,
Nestl entered in a joint bid with Cadbury and came close to purchasing
the iconic American company Hershey's, one of its fiercest confectionery
competitors, but the deal eventually fell through.[13] Another recent
purchase included theJenny Craig weight-loss program,
for US$600 million.
Nestl sold the Jenny Craig business unit to North Castle Partners in 2013.
[14]
In December 2005, Nestl bought the Greek company Delta Ice Cream for
240 million. In January 2006, it took full ownership of Dreyers, thus
becoming the worlds largest ice cream maker, with a 17.5% market
share.[15] In November 2006, Nestl purchased the Medical Nutrition
division of Novartis Pharmaceutical for US$2.5 billion, also acquiring, in
2007, the milk-flavoring product known as Ovaltine.
In April 2007, returning to its roots, Nestl bought US baby-food
manufacturer Gerber for US$5.5 billion.[16][17][18] In December 2007, Nestl
entered into a strategic partnership with a Belgian chocolate maker, Pierre
Marcolini.[19]
Nestl agreed to sell its controlling stake in Alcon to Novartis on 4 January
2010. The sale was to form part of a broader US$39.3 billion offer, by
Novartis, for full acquisition of the worlds largest eye-care company.[20] On
1 March 2010, Nestl concluded the purchase of Kraft Foods's North
American frozen pizza business for US$3.7 billion.
In July 2011, Nestl SA agreed to buy 60 percent of Hsu Fu Chi
International Ltd. for about US$1.7 billion.[21] On 23 April 2012, Nestl
agreed to acquire Pfizer Inc.'s infant-nutrition, formerly Wyeth Nutrition,
unit forUS$11.9 billion, topping a joint bid from Danone and Mead Johnson.
[22][23][24]
In February 2013, Nestl Health Science bought Pamlab, which makes
medical foods based on L-methylfolate targeting depression, diabetes and
memory loss.[25]
In February 2014, Nestl sold its PowerBar sports nutrition business to
Post Holdings, Inc.[26] Later, in November 2014, Nestl announced that it
was exploring strategic options for its frozen food subsidiary, Davigel. [27]
In recent years, Nestl Health Science has made several acquisitions. It
acquired Vitaflo, which makes clinical nutritional products for people with
genetic disorders; CM&D Pharma Ltd., a company that specialises in the
development of products for patients with chronic conditions like kidney
disease; and Prometheus Laboratories, a firm specialising in treatments
for gastrointestinal diseases and cancer. It also holds a minority stake in
Vital Foods, a New Zealand-based company that develops kiwifruit-based
solutions for gastrointestinal conditions.[
In December 2014, Nestl announced that it was opening 10 skin care
research centres worldwide, deepening its investment in a faster-growing
market for healthcare products. That year, Nestl spend about $350
million on dermatology research and development. The first of the
research hubs, Nestl Skin Health Investigation, Education and Longevity
Development (SHIELD) centres, will open mid 2015 in New York, followed
by Hong Kong and So Paulo, and later others in North America, Asia and
Europe. The initiative is being launched in partnership with the Global
Coalition on Aging (GCOA), a consortium that includes companies such as
Intel and Bank of America.
Products [edit]
Nestl has 64 brands,[1] with a wide range of products across a number of
markets, including coffee, bottled water, milkshakes and
other beverages, breakfast cereals, infant foods, performance and
healthcare nutrition,seasonings, soups and sauces, frozen and refrigerated
foods, and pet food.[1]
Corporate affairs [edit]
Japan headquarters
Nestl is the biggest food company in the world, with a
market capitalisation of roughly 231 billion Swiss francs,
which is more than {{US$247 billion}} as of May 2015.[30]
In 2014, consolidated sales were CHF 91.61 billion and net
profit was CHF 14.46 billion. Research and
development investment was CHF 1.63 billion.[31]
Sales per category in CHF
[1][3]
20.3 billion powdered and liquid beverages
16.7 billion milk products and ice cream
13.5 billion prepared dishes and cooking aids
13.1 billion nutrition and health science
11.3 billion petcare
9.6 billion confectionary
6.9 billion water
Percentage of sales by geographic area breakdown
43% from Americas
28% from Europe
29% from Asia, Oceania and Africa
According to a 2015 global survey of online consumers by the Reputation
Institute, Nestl has a reputation score of 74.5 on a scale of 1100.[32]
