Nestle Company Profile

History: Nestle is a Swiss multinational nutritional and health related consumer goods company headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It is the largest food company in the world measured by revenues. Nestlé’s products include baby, b ottled water, breakfast cereals, coffee, confectionery, dairy products, ice cream, pet foods and snacks. 29 of Nestle’s brands have annual sales of over 1 billion Swiss francs including Nespresso, Nescafe, KitKat, Smarties, Nesquik, Stouffer’s, Vittel, and Maggi. Nestle has around 450 factories, operates in 86 countries, and employs around 328,000 people.

It is one of the main shareholders of L’Oreal, the world’s largest cosmetics as company. Nestle was formed in 1905 by the merger of the Anglo-Swiss milk company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactee Henri Nestle, founded in 1867 by Henri 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 & Blackwell in 1950, Findus in1963, Libby’s in 1971, Rowntree Mackintosh in 1988, and Gerber in 2007. In 2011, Nestle was listed number 1 in the fortune 500 as the world’s most profitable corporation. With a market capitalization of $200 billion, Nestle ranked number 13 in the FT Global 2011.

Main Products: The main products of Nestle are foods such as chocolates, chips, coffee, ice cream, and frozen dinners.

5 Year Growth: Over the past 5 years the Nestle’s revenue has declined by 5.43% annually.

International Presence: Nestlé is a global leader in the food and beverage industry, with factories or operations in nearly every country and more than 300,000 employees worldwide. Leveraging the resources and expertise from their global presence and supply chains, Nestlé focuses on joint value creation in water, nutrition, and rural development – areas that are critical to both their core businesses and social wellbeing.

Competitive Advantages: Leading overall market position and number one or two brands in most areas, the extraordinarily large scope of Nestlé’s business provides for significant economies of scale in manufacturing, marketing and administration. The research and development capabilities allow the Company to lead the way in innovation and provides for maximum portfolio flexibility.

Future Prospects: Future prospects of Nestle are looking very pedestrian, the company’s management has expressed concerns about the future outlook. Says Antonio Helio Waszyk, Nestle India’s, chairman and managing director: “As expected, 2012 is proving to be a very challenging year. We remain cautious thanks to persistent inflation, uncertain monsoons and economic volatility.”