About us

Nestl is the world's leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness company. Our mission of "Good Food, Good Life" is to provide consumers with the best tasting, most nutritious choices in a wide range of food and beverage categories and eating occasions, from morning to night. The Company was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestl in Vevey, Switzerland, where our headquarters are still located today. We employ around 2,80,000 people and have factories or operations in almost every country in the world. Nestl sales for 2009 were CHF 108 bn.

History of Nestle
1866
Our history begins back in 1866, when the first European condensed milk factory was opened in Cham, Switzerland, by the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company.

1867
In Vevey, Switzerland, our founder Henri Nestl, a German pharmacist, launched his Farine lacte, a combination of cows milk, wheat flour and sugar, saving the life of a neighbours child. Nutrition has been the cornerstone of our company ever since. Henri Nestl, himself an immigrant from Germany, was instrumental in turning his Company towards international expansion from the very start. We owe more than our name, our logo and our first infantfood product to our founder. Henri Nestl embodied many of the key attitudes and values that form part and parcel of our corporate culture: pragmatism, flexibility, the willingness to learn, an open mind and respect for other people and cultures. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Nestl Chairman

1905
The Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company, founded by Americans Charles and George Page, merged with Nestl after a couple of decades as fierce competitors to form the Nestl and Anglo-Swiss Milk Company.

1914
The onset of World War I brought severe disruption to us along with the rest of the world. Acquiring raw materials and distributing products became increasingly difficult. Shortages of fresh milk throughout Europe forced factories to sell almost all their supplies to meet the needs of local towns.

1918
Nevertheless, the war created new demand for dairy products, largely in the form of government contracts. To keep up, Nestl purchased several existing factories in the United States and, by war's end, we had 40 factories worldwide.

1925
The 1920s were a time of deep economic hardship, and Nestl suffered severe difficulties along with much of the world. Operations were partially streamlined, but the company was able to continue, and with the acquisition of Peter, Cailler, Kohler Swiss Chocolate Company, chocolate became an integral part of our business. This sparked further variety in the products we offered including malted milk and a powdered drink called Milo.

1938
Nescaf coffee was launched.

1940
Nescaf became an instant success and was followed in the early 1940s by Nestea.

1939
During World War II, Members of the Board and General Management were transferred to the U.S. where they coordinated Nestl activities in the Western Hemisphere, the British Empire and overseas.

1943
Ironically, having slowed the initial launch of Nescaf, the war then helped to popularise it; with the United States entering the war, Nescaf coffee became a staple beverage of American servicemen serving in Europe and Asia.

1945
The close of World War II marked the beginning of a particularly dynamic phase of our history. Dozens of new products were added as our growth accelerated and we acquired outside companies.

1947
The Maggi products, from seasoning to soups, become part of the Nestl family following the merger with Alimentana S.A.

1948
Nesquik, the instant chocolate drink, was developed in the United States. Its original name of Quik was a direct allusion to the speed and simplicity of its preparation.

1974
For the first time we diversified outside the food industry when we became a major shareholder in L'Oral, one of the world's leading makers of cosmetics.

1977
Rising oil prices and slow growth in industrialised countries meant that we needed to respond to a radically changed marketplace. In 1977, we made our second venture outside the food industry by acquiringAlcon Laboratories Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of pharmaceutical and ophthalmic products. A boycott against Nestl was initiated by the U.S.-based organisation Infant Formula Action Coalition over concerns about our promotion of infant formula in developing countries. This led to a consultation process with the World Health Organization, UNICEF and non-governmental organisations. The U.S. boycott ended in 1984 with the signing of a Statement of Understanding between Nestl and the International Nestl Boycott Committee.

1981
In 1981 the World Health Assembly adopted the International Code for the Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (WHO Code) and recommended that its Member States implement it. Nestl was the first company to develop policies based on the WHO Code and apply them across our entire operations in developing countries.

1984
An improved bottom line allowed us to make new acquisitions, including a public offer of USD 3 billion for the American food giant, Carnation. At the time, this was one of the largest acquisitions in the history of the food industry.

1986
The Nespresso story began in 1986 with a simple idea: enable anyone to create the perfect cup of espresso coffee, just like a skilled barista.

1988
The Italian brand Buitoni, in Sansepolcro, became part of our portfolio in 1988. Nestled in the hills of Tuscany, Casa Buitoni is the symbol of the brands ongoing commitment to quality, creativity, and tradition. The UK-based organisation, Baby Milk Action, launched a boycott against Nestl. While there are still boycott activities in the UK today, the following organisations have officially ended their support for it: the General Synod of the Church of England in July 1994, the Royal College of Midwives in July 1997, the Methodist Ethical Investment Committee in November 2005 and the United Reformed Churches in November 2011.

1993
The first half of the 1990s were favourable for Nestl with the opening up of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as China good news for a company with such far-flung and diverse interests.

2001
We merged with the Ralston Purina Company, which had been founded in 1983, in 2001 to form a new pet food company, Nestl Purina PetCare Company.

2002
Two major acquisitions were made in North America in 2002: in July, the merger of our U.S. ice cream business with Dreyers; and in August, a USD 2.6 billion acquisition of Chef Am erica Inc., a leading frozen food product business.

2003
Nestl acquired Mvenpick Ice Cream, enhancing our position as a market leader in the super premium category.

2005
Our Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe recognised that the eating habits of the worlds population were changing and we began our own transformation. We began to move away from being a processor of agricultural commodities towards becoming a producer of food with added benefits and ultimately a provider of a wide range of products and services in the areas of nutrition, health and wellness.

2006
We acquired Jenny Craig and Uncle Toby's With the help of Harvards Michael Porter and Mark Kramer, we articulated for the first time the concept of Creating Shared Value. Creating Shared Value expresses our conviction that we can only be successful over the long term if we create value, not just for our shareholders, but also for society.

2007
We acquired Novartis Medical Nutrition, Gerber andHenniez.

2009
We held the first Creating Shared Value Forum in New York, with leading experts in the areas of nutrition, water and rural development coming together to discuss serious global challenges facing us in these three areas and the role of business in helping to solve them. The Creating Shared Value Forum has been held on an annual basis since then, with London in 2010 and Washington, D.C. in 2011. We celebrated the opening of the Chocolate Centre of Excellence in Broc, Switzerland.

January 2010
We sold our remaining Alcon shares to Novartis and also acquired Kraft Foods frozen pizza business.

March 2010
We faced a challenge from Greenpeace who wanted to be reassured about our commitment to sustainable Palm Oil. It was the first time we saw social media being used in a substantial way to challenge us and ask questions. We didnt get the handling of our response to the campaign itself quite right in social media, but on the issue at its heart palm oil - we took steps to both strengthen our position and to explain it more clearly.

May 2010
This month Nestl launched Special.T. We launched the Nestl Cocoa Plan which will supply 38 million high quality, disease-resistant plantlets to farmers helping them rejuvenate their farms and increase productivity. The Nescaf Plan was also launched investing CHF 500 million to address responsible farming, sourcing and consumption across our coffee supply chain. We also awarded the first Nestl Prize in Creating Shared Value to IDE Cambodia for its Farm Business Advisors programme and we announced our partnership with the Forest Trust to work to combat deforestation.

September 2010

We announced the creation of Nestl Health Science and the Nestl Institute of Health Sciences, innovative ventures aimed at the prevention and eventually treatment of chronic medical conditions with science-based personalised nutrition solutions.

January 2011
We voluntarily submitted our policies and procedures to the FTSE4Good Policy Committee for independent review.

March 2011
We became the first infant formula manufacturer to be included in the FTSE4Good Index. This is the London Stock Exchangess responsible investment index and the only index that evaluates companies on their responsible marketing of breast-milk substitutes, alongside human rights and supply chain criteria.

April 2011
China was at the forefront, as we announced a partnership in April with Chinese food company Yinlu, a manufacturer of ready-to-drink peanut milk and canned rice porridge.

July 2011
We announced a partnership with Hsu Fu Chi, a confectionery and snacks manufacturer.

November 2011
We became the first food company to partner with the Fair Labor Association. This partnership will help us investigate if children are working in cocoa farms that supply our factories and, where we find problems, to solve them.

Top competitors Cadbury Amul Products:

Baby foods Bottled water Cereals Chocolate & confectionery Coffee Culinary, chilled & frozen food Dairy Drinks Food service Healthcare nutrition Ice cream Petcare Sport nutrition

Key dates
1866 Foundation of Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Co. 1867 Henry Nestl's Infant cereal developed 1905 Nestl and Anglo Swiss Condensed Milk Co. (new name after merger)

1929 Merger with Peter, Cailler, Kohler Chocolats Suisses S.A. 1934 Launch of Milo 1938 Launch of Nescaf 1947 Nestl Alimentana S.A. (new name after merger with Maggi) 1948 Launch of Nestea and Nesquik 1969 Vittel (initially equity interest only) 1971 Merger with Ursina-Franck 1973 Stouffer's (with Lean Cuisine) 1974 L'Oral (associate) 1977 Nestl S.A. (new company name), Alcon (2002: partial IPO; 2008: partial sale) 1981 Galderma (joint venture with L'Oral) 1985 Carnation (with Coffee-mate and Friskies) 1986 Creation of Nestl Nespresso S.A. 1988 Buitoni-Perugina, Rowntree (with KitKat) 1990 Cereal Partners Worldwide (joint venture with General Mills) 1991 Beverage Partners Worldwide (joint venture with Coca-Cola) 1992 Perrier (with Poland Spring) 1993 Creation of Nestl Sources Internationales (2002: Nestl Waters) 1997 Creation of Nutrition Strategic Business Division (2006: Nestl Nutrition) 1998 San Pellegrino and Spillers Pet foods, Launch of Nestl Pure Life 2000 PowerBar 2001 Ralston Purina 2002 Schller and Chef America, Dairy Partners Americas (joint venture with Fonterra), Laboratoires innov (joint venture with L'Oral) 2003 Mvenpick and Dreyer's 2005 Wagner, Protika and Musashi 2006 Creation of FoodServices Strategic Business Division (2009: Nestl Professional), Lactalis Nestl Produits Frais (associate), Jenny Craig, Uncle Tobys and Delta Ice Cream 2007 Novartis Medical Nutrition, Gerber and Henniez 2008 Ruzanna 2009 Vitality Beverage business 2010 Kraft Food's frozen pizza, Waggin'Train, Malher, Technocom and Vitaflo, Creation of Nestl Health ,Science and Nestl Institute of Health Sciences 2011 Acquired a 60% share in Hsu Fu Chi in China, Acquired a 60% share in the Yinlu Foods Group (Yinlu) in China 2012 Opening of new Nespresso factory in Switzerland, Work with the Fair Labor Association on our cocoa supply chain, Nestl tops list of global companies cutting carbon emissions