1866–1900: Founding and early years (1814–1890), a German-born Swiss confectioner, was the founder of Nestlé and one of the main creators of
condensed milk. Nestlé's origin dates back to the 1860s, when two separate Swiss enterprises were founded that would later form Nestlé. In the following decades, the two competing enterprises expanded their businesses throughout
Europe and the
United States.
Timeline • 1866: Charles Page (
US consul to Switzerland) and
George Ham Page, brothers from
Lee County, Illinois, established the
Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company in
Cham, Switzerland. The company's first British operation was opened at
Chippenham, Wiltshire in 1873. • 1867: In Vevey, Switzerland,
Henri Nestlé developed milk-based baby food and soon began marketing it. The following year,
Daniel Peter began seven years of work perfecting the
milk chocolate manufacturing process. Nestlé had the solution, Peter needed to fix his problem of removing all the water from the milk added to his chocolate, thus preventing the product from developing mildew. • 1875: Henri Nestlé retired; the company, under new ownership, retained his name as
Société Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé. • 1877: Anglo-Swiss added milk-based baby foods to its products; in the following year, the Nestlé Company added
condensed milk to its portfolio, which made the firms direct rivals. • 1879: Nestlé merged with milk chocolate inventor Daniel Peter. • 1890: Henri Nestlé died.
1901–1989: Mergers In the late 19th and early 20th century, Henri Nestlé and his successors participated in the development of the
chocolate industry in Switzerland, together with the
Peter,
Kohler, and
Cailler families. In 1904, Daniel Peter and Charles-Amédée Kohler (son of
Charles-Amédée Kohler who founded a chocolate factory in 1830) became partners and founded the
Société générale suisse des chocolats Peter et Kohler réunis. In 1911, the company created by Peter and Kohler merged with Cailler. Alexandre Cailler (grandson of
François-Louis Cailler) had founded a chocolate factory in
Broc in 1898, still used by Nestlé today; which enabled the production of milk chocolate on a large scale. In 1929, Peter, Cailler, Kohler, Chocolats Suisses finally merged with the Nestlé group. An earlier alliance in 1904 between Peter and Nestlé also allowed the production of milk chocolate in the United States, at the
Fulton plant. In 1905, Nestlé and Anglo-Swiss merged to become the Nestlé and Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company, retaining that name until 1947 when the name 'Nestlé 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. The company's 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 a demand for dairy products in the form of government contracts, and by the end of the war, Nestlé's production had more than doubled. In January 1919, Nestlé bought two condensed milk plants in
Oregon from the company
Geibisch and Joplin for $250,000. One was in
Bandon, while the other was in
Milwaukie. They expanded them considerably, processing 250,000 pounds of condensed milk daily in the Bandon plant. After the
World War I, government contracts dried up, and consumers switched back to fresh milk. However, Nestlé's management responded quickly, streamlining operations and reducing debt. The 1920s saw Nestlé's first expansion into new products, with chocolate-manufacture becoming the company's second most important activity;
white chocolate was created in the following decade. Louis Dapples was CEO till 1937 when succeeded by
Édouard Muller till his death in 1948. Nestlé 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 South America. Ironically, the war helped with the introduction of the company's newest product,
Nescafé ("Nestlé's Coffee"), which became a staple drink of the US military. Despite that, Nestlé actually supplied both sides in the war: the company had a contract to feed the German army. Nestlé's production and sales rose in the wartime economy. The end of World War II was the beginning of a dynamic phase for Nestlé. Growth accelerated and numerous companies were acquired. In 1947 Nestlé merged with
Maggi, a manufacturer of seasonings and soups.
Crosse & Blackwell followed in 1960, as did
Findus (1963),
Libby's (1971), and
Stouffer's (1973). Diversification came under chairman & CEO
Pierre Liotard-Vogt with a shareholding in
L'Oreal in 1974 and the acquisition of
Alcon Laboratories Inc. in 1977 for $280 million.
1990–2011: International growth The first half of the 1990s proved to be favourable for Nestlé. Trade barriers crumbled, and world markets developed into more or less integrated trading areas. Late 1990s acquisitions included
San Pellegrino (1997),
D'Onofrio (1997), and
Spillers Petfoods (1998). In 1999, Nestlé sold the Findus brand to the Swedish firm
EQT AB. In the early 2000s, acquisitions in North America included
Ralston Purina (2002),
Dreyer's ice cream, and a acquisition of
Chef America, the creator of
Hot Pockets. In this period, Nestlé entered in a joint bid with Cadbury and came close to purchasing the American company
Hershey's, one of its fiercest confectionery competitors, but the deal eventually fell through. In December 2005, Nestlé bought the Greek company Delta Ice Cream for €240 million. In January 2006, it took full ownership of Dreyer's, thus becoming the world's largest ice cream maker, with a 17.5% market share. In June 2006, Nestlé purchased weight-loss company
Jenny Craig for . In July 2007, completing a deal announced the year before, Nestlé acquired the Medical Nutrition division of Novartis Pharmaceutical for and also acquiring the milk-flavoring product known as
Ovaltine, the "Boost" and "Resource" lines of nutritional supplements, and Optifast dieting products. , inaugurates a factory in
Feira de Santana (
Bahia), in February 2007. In April 2007, returning to its roots, Nestlé bought US baby-food manufacturer
Gerber for . In December 2007, Nestlé entered into a strategic partnership with a Belgian chocolate maker,
Pierre Marcolini. In late September 2008, the Hong Kong government found
melamine in a Chinese-made Nestlé milk product. Six infants died from kidney damage, and a further 860 babies were hospitalised. The following June, an
outbreak of
E. coli O157:H7 was linked to Nestlé's refrigerated
cookie dough originating in a plant in
Danville, Virginia. Nestlé agreed to sell its controlling stake in
Alcon to
Novartis on 4 January 2010. The sale was to form part of a broader offer by Novartis, for full acquisition of the world's largest eye-care company. On March 2, 2010, Nestlé completed the purchase of
Kraft Foods's North American frozen pizza business for , which included brands such as
DiGiorno,
Tombstone, and
California Pizza Kitchen. Since 2010, Nestlé has been working to transform itself into a
nutrition, health and wellness company, in an effort to combat declining confectionery sales and the threat of expanding government regulation of such foods. This effort is being led through the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences under the direction of Ed Baetge. The institute aims to develop "a new industry between food and pharmaceuticals" by creating foodstuffs with preventive and corrective health properties that would replace
pharmaceutical drugs from pill bottles. The Health Science branch has already produced several products, such as drinks and protein shakes meant to combat malnutrition, diabetes, digestive health, obesity, and other diseases. It acquired British pharmaceutical company Vitaflo, which makes clinical nutritional products for people with
genetic disorders, in August 2010. In July 2011, Nestlé SA agreed to buy 60 percent of Hsu Fu Chi International Ltd. for about . On 23 April 2012, Nestlé agreed to acquire
Pfizer Inc.'s
infant-nutrition, formerly Wyeth Nutrition, unit for , topping a joint bid from
Danone and Mead Johnson.
2012–present In recent years, Nestlé Health Science has made several acquisitions: 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 food products as of 2012. Nestlé sold its
Jenny Craig business unit to North Castle Partners in 2013. In February 2013, Nestlé Health Science bought Pamlab, which makes medical foods based on L-methylfolate targeting depression, diabetes, and memory loss. In February 2014, Nestlé sold its PowerBar sports nutrition business to Post Holdings, Inc. Later, in November 2014, Nestlé announced that it was exploring strategic options for its frozen food subsidiary, Davigel. In December 2014, Nestlé announced that it was opening 10 skin care research centres worldwide, deepening its investment in a faster-growing market for healthcare products. That year, Nestlé spent about $350 million on dermatology research and development. The first of the research hubs, Nestlé Skin Health Investigation, Education and Longevity Development (SHIELD) centres, will open mid 2015 in New York, followed by Hong Kong and São 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. In May 2015, food safety regulators from the state of
Uttar Pradesh, India, found that samples of
Nestlé India's
Maggi noodles had up to 17 times more than the permissible safe amount of lead, in addition to
monosodium glutamate. In January 2017, Nestlé announced that it was relocating its US headquarters from
Glendale, California, to
Rosslyn, Virginia, outside of
Washington, DC. In March 2017, Nestlé announced that they will lower the sugar content in
Kit Kat,
Yorkie and
Aero chocolate bars by 10% by 2018. In July, a similar announcement followed concerning the reduction of sugar content in its breakfast cereals in the UK. The company announced a $20.8 billion share buyback in June 2017, following the publication of a letter written by
Third Point Management founder
Daniel S. Loeb, Nestlé's fourth-largest stakeholder with a $3.5 billion stake, explaining how the firm should change its business structure. Consequently, the firm will reportedly focus investment on sectors such as coffee and pet care and will seek acquisitions in the consumer health-care industry. In March 2017, Nestlé and Coca-Cola agreed to dissolve the
Beverage Partners Worldwide venture effective on January 1, 2018, in part because Nestlé wanted to expand
Nestea on its own. In July 2017, Nestlé introduced a new type of
infant formula in Spain, containing two
human milk oligosaccharides. Oligosaccharides are the third most abundant components of breast milk with various health benefits, but previously were not part of infant formula. In September 2017, Nestlé S.A. acquired a majority stake of
Blue Bottle Coffee. While the deal's financial details were not disclosed, the
Financial Times reported "Nestlé is understood to be paying up to $500m for the 68 per cent stake in Blue Bottle". In September 2017, Nestlé USA agreed to acquire Sweet Earth, a California-based producer of plant-based foods, for an undisclosed sum. Nestlé set a new profit target in September 2017 and agreed to offload over 20 of its US candy brands in January 2018. However, sales grew only 2.4% in 2017, and as of July 2018, the share price declined more than 8%. While some suggestions were adopted, Loeb said in a July 2018 letter that the shifts are too small and too slow. In a statement, Nestlé wrote that it was "delivering results" and listed actions it had taken, including investing in key brands and its global coffee partnership with Starbucks. However, activist investors disagreed, leading Third Point Management to launch NestleNOW, a website to push its case with recommendations calling for change, accusing Nestlé of not being as fast, aggressive, or strategic as it needs to be. Activist investors called for Nestlé to divide into three units with distinct CEOs, regional structures, and marketing heads - beverage, nutrition, and grocery; spin off more businesses that do not fit its model such as ice cream, frozen foods, and confectionery; and add an outsider with expertise in the food and beverage industry to the board. In January 2018, Nestlé USA announced it was selling its US confectionary business, including the
100 Grand,
BabyRuth,
Butterfinger,
OhHenry!,
Raisinets and
SnoCaps to
Ferrara Candy Company, an American-based chocolate and candy maker and
Ferrero-related company. The company was sold for a total of an estimated $2.8 billion. In September 2018, Nestlé announced that it would sell Gerber Life Insurance for $1.55 billion. In October 2018, Nestlé announced the launch of the Nestlé Alumni Network, through a strategic partnership with
SAP &
EnterpriseAlumni, to engage with their over 1 million
alumni globally. In 2019, the company announced that it would publish Nutri-Score on all of its products sold in the European countries that supported the nutritional label. In 2020, Nestlé USA's and Nestlé Canada's ice cream divisions were acquired by
Froneri. Also during that year, Nestlé announced that the company wants to invest in plant-based food, starting with a "tuna salad" and meat-free products to engage and reach younger and vegan consumers. On 16 February 2021, Nestlé announced that it had agreed to sell its water brands in the US and Canada to One Rock Capital Partners and
Metropoulos & Co. The sale would include the spring water and mountain brands, the purified water brand and the delivery service. The plan did not include the Perrier, S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna brands. In early April 2021, the sale was concluded. The
COVID-19 pandemic did not affect Nestlé negatively. Due to lockdowns, people bought more packaged foods, not only coffee and dairy products, but also pet products, which increased the company's sales. Nestlé recorded its strongest quarterly sales growth in 10 years. In April 2021, Nestlé agreed to purchase the vitamin manufacturing
Bountiful Company, formerly known as The Nature's Bounty Co., for $5.75 billion, noting as well that much of the company's growth that quarter came from "vitamins, minerals, and supplements that support health and the immune system". Bountiful's brands included Nature's Bounty, Solgar, Osteo Bi-Flex, and Puritan's Pride. In July 2021, Vitaflo International Ltd. (subsidiary to Nestlé Health Science since 2010) acquired the Dr. Schär brands, Mevalia and ComidaMed, which are used for the dietary management of IEM and cow's milk protein allergy to complement Vitaflo's existing IEM product portfolio. In January 2022, Nestlé announced that it would pay African cocoa farmers cash if they send their children to school. In May 2022, it was announced Nestlé's Health Science unit had acquired the
Brazilian organic, natural, plant-based food maker Puravida. In May 2022, Nestlé was sending baby formula supplies to the U.S. from European air bases to ease the
2022 United States infant formula shortage. These relief shipments included products from the
Gerber baby food formula brand from the
Netherlands and Alfamino baby formula from
Switzerland. In September 2023, it was announced Nestlé had acquired a majority stake in the
Extrema, Minas Gerais-headquartered premium chocolate manufacturer, Grupo CRM for an undisclosed amount. Following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the company continued doing business in Russia; therefore in November 2023, Ukraine's
National Agency on Corruption Prevention listed Nestlé as an
International Sponsor of War. Nestle stated that it had already "halted all non-essential imports and exports to and from Russia". In February 2024, it was announced Nestle is expanding manufacturing capacity in
India and increasing investments — the company will invest between
₹60-65 billion ($723–783 million) from 2020 to 2025. Nestlé announced Schneider would leave his position as CEO and be replaced by
Laurent Freixe on September 1, 2024. In May 2025, Nestlé acquired an minority stake in Drools Pet Food in India. In September 2025, Nestlé announced the immediate dismissal of its chief executive, Laurent Freixe, following an investigation by its board that found he had an undisclosed romantic relationship with an employee. The company's board initially launched an investigation following allegations of a relationship between Freixe and a direct report emerged in spring 2025 through an internal company hotline. In October 2025, Nestlé announced it would cut 16,000 jobs and assess the possibility of selling some of its 2,000-plus brands. On 18 December 2025, Nestle announced the expansion of its Materna range, designed to support the post-birth recovery of mothers. This is built on the existing range which was introduced in 2024 to support women's health including pre-conception. In January 2026, Nestle recalled infant formula products sold in Europe, Turkey and Argentina due to potential
cereulide toxin contamination.
Austria's health ministry described the recall as the largest recall in Nestle's history. By 9 January, the recall had expanded to 49 countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and South America. In March 2026, Nestle reached an agreement to sell Blue Bottle Coffee to
Centurium Capital. At the time, Blue Bottle Coffee was operating at a loss. ==Corporate affairs and governance==