Innovation, Diversification, Merger and Acquisition: The success story of Nestle
Beginning of Nestle:
Henri Nestlé founded Nestle in 1866 in Vevey(Switzerland), which is the headquarters of Nestle even today. The thought behind the establishment of the company was to provide healthy and affordable product to babies who could not be breastfeed by their mothers.
The first product was called Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, which was a nutritious combination of milk, wheat, and sugar. . Within next few years Farine Lactée product was marketed and sold in Europe and in 1905 the company merges with Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company, to form what is now known as the Nestlé Group.
Struggle and World Wars Impact on Nestle:
The 1st World War(1914-1918) had a severe impact across Europe. Although Switzerland was not involved in war Nestle had a difficult time in finding raw materials. Distribution system was affected as whole continent was at war. Fresh milk which was essential for many of the product was hard to find.
That was a terrible time for any business . Nestle survived due to its large scale production and soon acquired several government contracts which helped them grow rapidly. The demand for condensed and dairy products started to increase and to fulfill those demands Nestlé purchased several factories in the U.S .
The happy time could not last long. Although fresh milk and other ingredients were easily available their price was too high and eventually Nestlé suffered and slipped into huge debt. And again they somehow were able to make it through this period of financial difficulty.
Later they acquired Calliet, Peter, and the Kohler Swiss Chocolate company in the late-1920s and soon chocolate became one of the central focuses of the business. Nestlé launched its first coffee product , Nescafé, in 1938 followed by Nestea. Nescafe is still one of the most successful product of Nestle.
The 2nd world war again isolated Europe and Asia. Due to distribution problem Nestle started to open factories in developing countries of Latin America. Production increased adequately after America entered the war and Nescafé soon became a main beverage for the American soldiers in Europe and Asia.
Total sale increased by $125 million from 1938 to 1945 and this was just the beginning of golden can you really buy ambien online period. There was lot of merger and acquisition that assisted in rapid expansion.
Mergers and Acquisition of Nestle
Alimentana S.A., the holding company responsible for Maggi, merged with Nestlé. Nestlé began manufacturing Maggi products which were sold all over the world and hold majority of market share. Also Nestlé acquired Cross & Blackwell, Findus frozen foods, and Libby’s fruit juices. Nescafé instant coffee sales quadrupled from 1960 to 1974. The growth and expansion continued outside food market too as Nestle became a major stockholder in L’Oréal cosmetics in 1974.
Nestlé bought Carnation for $3 billion in 1980s, which was one of the largest takeovers at that timeand buys UK confectionery company Rowntree Mackintosh, adding brands including KitKat in 1998. In the 1990s, Nestlé acquired San Pellegrino, and Spillers Petfoods of the UK and Ralston Purina in 2001, later the Nestlé owned pet care businesses joined to form the industry leader Nestlé Purina PetCare.
The acquisition kept going when Nestle acquired Chef America, Dreyer and Movenpick Ice Cream which enchanced Nestle as a market leader. In 2006, Jenny Craig and Uncle Toby’s were added to the Nestlé portfolio. Also Frozen Pizza of Kraft Foods was integrated into the Nestlé Group.
Current situation of Nestle
The constant innovation, mergers and acquisition shows the clear objective of Nestle to become a market leader and the company has diversified health beauty and wellness categories. Nestlé currently operates in over 150 countries and employs around 335,000 people.
Nestle have 436 factories in 85 countries. It is a market leader in most of the food and beverage categories in which it operates and still ambitious today is to enhance people’s quality of life through nutrition health and wellness with science-based innovations.
Did you know
Nestle was established to provide healthy and affordable product to babies who could not be breastfeed by their mothers.
Nestle became a major stockholder in L’Oréal cosmetics in 1974
The first product was called Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, which was a nutritious combination of milk, wheat, and sugar.
Nestlé currently operates in over 150 countries and employs around 335,000 people
