Corporate Profiles - 2020 - 100

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Nestle SA
Pushing further into plant-based; padding Nestle Health Sciences portfolio
ven as the company exits or is reviewing
numerous US businesses it views as less
promising Nestle SA continues to pursue
new areas of potential growth. Product development at the Vevey, Switzerland-based company is
largely centered around plant-based foods, and the
company continues to build out its Nestle Health
Sciences division through acquisitions.
In August, Nestle announced it had developed
a plant-based tuna product made with six ingredients. The product initially launched in Switzerland
for use in salads and other applications and as a
component of prepared plant-based sandwiches.
The move into the seafood alternative market
followed an expansion of Nestle's Sweet Earth
Foods plant-based portfolio in the United States.
New products introduced throughout the spring
and summer included deli slices, sausage, jerky and
entree bowls. In July, the brand added the Awesome
Bacon Burger made with textured pea protein and
vegan bacon bits made with vital wheat gluten,
adzuki beans and buckwheat groats. Nestle also
launched non-dairy creamers as part of its retail
coffee partnership with Starbucks Corp.
Earlier in the year, Nestle entered into a joint
development agreement with ingredient manufacturers Merit Functional Foods and Burcon NutraScience Corp. to develop plant protein ingredients

to be used in Nestle's products. The partnership
combines Nestle's development, production and
commercialization capabilities with Burcon's extraction and purification technology and Merit's production capabilities, according to the companies.
Meanwhile, Nestle continues pruning its North
American presence. In June, the company said it
will sell its Buitoni North American pasta business
to a private equity firm and that it was seeking options for its North American Waters business. The
business under strategic review includes Poland
Spring, Deer Park, Ice Mountain and Arrowhead
as well as a direct-to-consumer and office delivery
service. Nestle affirmed its commitment to its international and premium waters businesses.
These actions follow the previous divestitures of
Nestle's US ice cream and confectionery businesses,
as well as the exit of its company-owned directstore delivery network for pizza and ice cream.
Products and businesses added to the Nestle
Health Sciences unit during the past year include

Zenpep, a gastrointestinal medication; Vital Proteins,
a manufacturer of collagen-based foods, beverages and supplements; IM HealthScience, the parent
company of brands including Fiber Choice, IBgard
for irritable bowel syndrome, FDgard for functional
dyspepsia, and REMfresh, a melatonin supplement
for sleep; and Aimmune Therapeutics, a developer of
treatments to prevent food allergies.
The pandemic has battered Nestle's away-fromhome sales, but the company had no plans to retreat
from the market, said Ulf Mark Schneider, chief executive officer, in July. He said Nestle will "rethink," not
"rightsize," the business, which globally spans categories such as water, coffee, confectionery and ice cream,
about 10% of company sales pre-COVID-19.
"It's not about rightsizing per se," he said during a July 30 earnings call. "It's about adapting to
change that I think is inevitable now in the outof-home business. And yes, so probably there'll
be less hotel and restaurant business for a while
going forward, and people may be eating less at
some company cafeterias for a while, but imagine
how many more people, for example, ordered in
from restaurants and dark kitchens and what have
you. And so clearly there's a change in nature. And
there's almost like a blurring of the lines between
what is in-home consumption and what is out-ofhome consumption." CP

Chief executive officer -
Ulf Mark Schneider

7,156

2017

100 \ October 2020

10,135

2018

Nestle SA net sales

12,609

2019

in millions of Swiss francs

Nestle SA net profit

Nestle SA share price

in Swiss francs
118
109
100

89,590

91,439

92,568

91
82

2017

2018

2019

Oct.
2019

Dec.

Milling & Baking News * Food Business News * Baking & Snack * Meat+Poultry * Pet Food Processing

Feb.
2020

Apr.

June

Aug.

Corporate Profiles

Corporate Profiles - 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Corporate Profiles - 2020