Nestle forays into Indian organic food segment with Nestle Ceregrow

In a latest innovation, Nestlé India has collaborated with SOCIAL, India’s favourite neighbourhood café, to test launch MAGGI Professional’s plant-based range.

The products have been used to craft The New Irresistible Menu, that is available at 41 SOCIAL and 40 BOSS Burger outlets across Delhi (NCR), Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Chandigarh for three months.

The plant-based range has been especially developed for chefs and features two offerings - a burger patty and mince, alternatives to meat-based meals. The products provide similar sensorial attributes as chicken, with the familiar bounce and juiciness.

“We are delighted to announce our partnership with SOCIAL, to pilot MAGGI Professional’s new plant-based range through a limited period menu. This is a part of our commitment to offer more food choices to our valued consumers, both in home and out of home. We are confident that the chefs would enjoy cooking with this range and create novel dishes for their consumers,” shared Suresh Narayanan, Chairman & Managing Director, Nestlé India.

They are a source of protein & fiber, and naturally free from cholesterol. The range caters to the evolving preferences of a young audience with global cultural exposure and mindful consumption habits.

Commenting on the initiative, Riyaaz Amlani, Founder & Managing Director, Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. said, “We are thrilled to embark on this culinary journey with Nestlé which brings together the culinary expertise of SOCIAL and the innovative plant-based range from Nestlé India. The New Irresistible Menu is not just a testament to our commitment to providing exceptional dining experiences, but it also signifies a significant step towards a more sustainable, conscious, and innovative approach to dining. We believe this collaboration will redefine the possibilities of plant-based dining in India, and offer our guests a novel, sensory symphony of flavours.”

Guests can now try The New Irresistible Menu at select SOCIAL outlets, and for delivery on BOSS Burger via DotPe, Swiggy and Zomato.

Gone are the days when people would visit cinemas and malls to watch their favourite movies, these days it’s all about creating experiences and taking it beyond that.

In a recent development, Nestle Professional has joined hands with PVR-Inox cinema halls to elevate the experience with NESCAFÉ.

Crafted with over 80 years of roasting and brewing expertise, NESCAFÉ, along with a range of beverage options from Nestlé including Nestea Cardamom Tea and Nesquik hot cocoa will now be available at more than 200 PVR-Inox theatres across 29 cities in India.

“It has always been our endeavour to ensure that our consumers enjoy Nestlé’s brands, both in home and out-of-home. This partnership is a step towards building multiple, relevant consumption occasions for our range of beverages. Movie theatres have traditionally served as a popular entertainment hub and through this association we intend to elevate the experience of new age cinema goers,” shared Saurabh Makhija, head – Nestlé Professional, Nestlé India.

Nestlé Professional is dedicated to address the unique business challenges and opportunities of Out of Home customers by providing high quality and relevant food & beverage solutions and services. Nestlé Professional offers solutions across product categories – whole roasted beans, premix based beverages, confectionary, dairy and food solutions. The company has recently launched its range of cutting-edge machines which offer fresh brewed coffee from whole roasted coffee beans, along with a range of other beverages across instant tea and cocoa.

“Cinema moments have evolved from watching a film to a larger experience with family and friends. Much like our partners, we take great pride in helping our patrons relax, unwind, and enjoy the small pleasures of life, through cinema. We are proud to partner with Nestlé Professional towards a common goal of elevating the movie experience. Nestlé Professional offers a range of beverages so there is something for everyone. We are confident that our patrons stand to gain immensely and their movie-viewing experience would go up a notch through this association,” added Gautam Dutta, Co-CEO, PVR INOX Limited.

MAGGI is launching its first-ever Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in the OneRare Foodverse.

A leader in the culinary space, MAGGI has been at the forefront of innovation and bold experimentation for over 40 years in India. With a product loved by all age groups, MAGGI is now set to embrace blockchain technology to reach out to their fans and foodies in an all-new avatar.

Partnering with OneRare, MAGGI will be launching their iconic offerings – Recipes made with MAGGI Noodles, MAGGI Masala-ae-Magic and MAGGI Hot & Sweet as NFTs that can be used in the Foodverse. From nostalgic noodle recipes to classic Indian dishes, these exclusive NFTs will undoubtedly leave MAGGI enthusiasts excited.

“Cooking in India is undergoing a digital transformation. These are exciting times where everyone is engaging in cooking, regardless of their skill and expertise. MAGGI has been an ally to the Indian homemaker for over 40 years and we have always been at the forefront of innovation. In our latest innovation in the virtual world, we are proud to launch our first-ever Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in the OneRare Foodverse. With this partnership, we bring to people an immersive cooking experience, designed to bring alive the pleasure that people derive from the process of cooking, without any physical cooking involved,” said, Rajat Jain, Head – Foods Business, Nestlé India.

The MAGGI NFT launch in the OneRare Foodverse is a game-changer for the F&B industry, setting new standards for customer engagement, and paving the way for others to follow suit.

"We're thrilled to partner with an iconic brand like MAGGI," shared Supreet Raju, Co-Founder of OneRare by adding that this groundbreaking move demonstrates the potential of blockchain technology in transforming the F&B industry, and we're thrilled to bring these NFTs to life on the blockchain.

FMCG major Nestlé is further expanding its plant-based food portfolio with two new exciting innovations - plant-based alternatives to egg and shrimp.

The company is committed to offering people a variety of plant-based food and beverages that complement their daily diets and that are good for them and good for the planet, shared the statement.

The plant-based alternatives to eggs offer people a nutritious, tasty alternative to conventional eggs that is both sustainable and animal-friendly.

“Our new plant-based shrimp and egg alternatives have an authentic texture and flavor, as well as a favorable nutritional profile which makes them a good replacement for animal-based shrimp and eggs in a wide range of dishes,’ shared Stefan Palzer, Chief Technology Officer, Nestlé.

Launched under Garden Gourmet vEGGie, the product is vegan, contains soy protein and omega-3 fatty acids and achieves a Nutri-Score A in Europe.

Additionally, Nestlé expanded its plant-based seafood offerings with the Garden Gourmet Vrimp. It is vegan and made from a combination of seaweed, peas and konjac root. It is a source of fiber and comes with a Nutri-Score B in Europe. It also has the authentic texture and flavor of succulent shrimps.

The Garden Gourmet Vrimp follows the successful launch of Garden Gourmet Vuna which is now available in Switzerland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Plant-based seafood alternatives help to reduce overfishing and protect the biodiversity of our oceans.

“Our longstanding expertise in plant, protein and nutritional sciences enabled our teams to develop these great innovations in under a year. As we speak our R&D teams are already preparing the next wave of plant-based launches,” he added.

Both the Vrimp and vEGGie products were developed with proprietary technologies by R&D experts at Nestlé Research in Switzerland and the dedicated R&D Center for culinary food in Germany. They will now be introduced as a test-and-learn in a limited number of stores in Switzerland and Germany.

“We're proud to have an amazing range of plant-based foods that really deliver on great taste, texture and nutrition. With these new test launches we're continuing to expand our offering to give people great options they can use in their daily cooking, whether it’s for breakfast, lunch or dinner with friends or family,” pointed Wayne England, Head of  food business, Nestle.

Building on Starbucks entry into the creamer category in July 2019, Nestlé and Starbucks has announced Starbucks® Non-Dairy Creamers, the latest innovation from their global coffee alliance.

This aims to bring customers exciting new ways to enjoy coffee at-home. Crafted with a unique blend of almond milk and oat milk, Starbucks® Non-Dairy Creamers create a rich and smooth texture with delicious flavors inspired by customer-favorite handcrafted beverages.

As customer interest in plant-based creamers continues to see rapid growth, Starbucks is expanding its existing creamer portfolio to include non-dairy options.

Starbucks® Non-Dairy Creamers are available in two flavors – Caramel and Hazelnut. Starbucks® Caramel Flavored Non-Dairy Creamer is inspired by the customer-favorite handcrafted beverage Caramel Macchiato and is made with sweet, buttery caramel and hints of vanilla flavor to pair perfectly with our coffee for an oh-so-delicious cup.

Starbucks® Hazelnut Flavored Non-Dairy Creamer is inspired by the  Hazelnut Latte found at Starbucks Cafes and is crafted with flavors of rich hazelnuts to pair perfectly with our coffee for a delicious morning sip. The Starbucks® Creamer portfolio celebrates coffee in the finished cup, perfectly smooth and balanced, with a great taste and rich texture.

Starbucks® Non-Dairy Creamers will be available in the refrigerated dairy aisle where you buy groceries nationwide beginning in August.

The country’s two biggest foods and beverage giants Nestle and Coca-Cola announced that they will be suspending production on a temporarily at their plants. This is to be done with the exception of limited essential products, following the nation-wide lockdown amidst the Covid-19 scare.

Nestle, maker of our favourite Maggi noodles, Nescafe coffee, Cereal infant cereal and KitKat chocolate, said in a BSE filing that due to the countrywide lockdown, operations in some of its locations, inclusive of manufacturing, distribution centres, warehouses, offices and suppliers, have been temporarily suspended.

Nestle said, “The company is closely monitoring the situation and will take all necessary measures as directed by the government and authorities. The impact on the operations of the company cannot be assessed at this point,”  Although the India unit of the Swiss foods maker did not specify the products for which it was suspending manufacturing.

A Coca-Cola spokesperson said the company has temporarily suspended production at its manufacturing facilities. The maker of Coke and Thums Up soft drinks, Minute Maid juice and Kinley water, which has a large footprint of over 50 bottling operations including franchisee partners, will operate manufacturing facilities only for essential beverages such as water in very small numbers.

A nation-wide lockdown has been extended till 14th of April to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, with only essential services being made available.

Not just Nestle and Coke, Dabur too on Monday had said it is temporarily suspending production, except for essentials like ayurvedic medicines, Chyawanprash and sanitisers. The coming together of all these food and beverage giants to fight Coronavirus is indeed a great move all over the country to contain the disease outbreak.

Nestlé is bringing a new line of “bespoke and handmade” KitKat bars in the UK in up to 1,500 different flavours. The move is described as the biggest development for the brand since the launch of KitKat Chunky 20 years ago.

The KitKat Chocolatory will be arriving in 30 John Lewis & Partners shops across the UK.

Rabia Khan, Head of KitKat Chocolatory for Nestlé UK & Ireland, said, “KitKat is our biggest brand and this is the biggest news for KitKat since the introduction of the KitKat Chunky exactly 20 years ago.”

“We know how much people enjoy experimenting with new and exciting KitKat flavours and the KitKat Chocolatory offers a whole new, premium KitKat experience as well as the chance to create your very own personalised break and have it delivered right to your door,” Khan added.

John Lewis & Partners will be offering the full range of ‘Special Editions’ KitKat bars in 30 shops.

Rachel Costello, John Lewis Partner and gift food buyer, stated, “I think our customers will love these exciting new flavours from such an iconic, much-loved brand and the experience of making their own KitKat. There are so many options that everyone can find their perfect flavour. These special KitKats will make fun and unique Christmas gifts and stocking fillers.”

Starbucks is bringing a line of creamers in order to reach more customers at home. The new product line is the latest to emerge from a 2018 partnership between Starbucks and Nestlé. 

The two companies had earlier launched Starbucks products like coffee beans and espresso capsules with Nespresso, designed to appeal to consumers who want to make specialty coffees themselves.

The new creamers will be available in caramel macchiato, white chocolate mocha and cinnamon dolce latte, the flavors inspired by Starbucks' more indulgent drinks. Priced at about $5 for a 28 fluid-ounce container, the creamers will start appearing in US grocery stores next month.

Duncan Moir, President of Global Channel Development at Starbucks, said, “For Starbucks, creamer is a natural progression within the partnership. The new platforms should help customers replicate their experiences at Starbucks cafes in their own homes.”

Daniel Jhung, President of Beverage at Nestlé USA, stated, “Nestlé has been a leader in the creamer category since launching Coffee mate in 1961 and we continue to innovate and help drive category growth. In our work with Starbucks through our global coffee alliance, we saw the opportunity to introduce Starbucks Creamers as a new way for consumers to enjoy the Starbucks café flavors they know and love from the comfort of their home.”

Nestle has jumped onto the healthy food trend by developing new chocolate made entirely from the cocoa fruit, using the beans and pulp as the only ingredients and not adding any refined sugar.

Until now, the chocolates have been made with the addition of refined sugars. This patented innovation of Nestle is said to deliver "great-tasting chocolate" using just the cocoa fruit.

The first product featuring the innovation will be a 70% dark chocolate KitKat bar. The product will go on sale in Japan later this year. After a debut in the Japan market, the company is planning to take the product to a global level in 2020.

Patrice Bula, Head of strategic business units, marketing and sales at Nestlé, said, “We’re proud to bring chocolate lovers new chocolate made entirely from the cocoa fruit without adding refined sugar. This is a real innovation which uses the natural sweetness of the cocoa pulp to provide a pure, novel chocolate experience.”

In 2018, Nestle had introduced a ruby version of its KitKat bars in Japan and South Korea, becoming the first company to sell a product made from ruby chocolate.

Nestlé India will soon launch a range of Asian flavour inspired noodles, Maggi Fusian, in a bid to cater to the evolving consumer preferences.

MAGGI Fusian will be launched in a range of three unique flavors, including Bangkok Sweet Chili, Hong Kong Spicy Garlic and Singaporean Tangy Pepper. This new range has been crafted using signature herbs and spices predominantly used in pan-Asian cuisines.

Nikhil Chand, Director, foods and confectionary, Nestlé India, said, “Maggi brings to India, for the first time ever, an innovative range that will delight food lovers who love to explore new taste and flavours. This unique range has been specially crafted for our loving consumers.”

“With this range, consumers will be able to experience, the thrill of tasting flavours from all over Asia with the simplicity, trust and convenience that Maggi brings in our lives,” he added.

Maggi, Nestle India's instant noodles brand, has attained more than 60% market share.

ITC, The Kolkata-based cigarette-to-cookie maker, has test-launched an instant coffee brand, Sunbean Beaten Caffe. This brand will directly compete with Hindustan Unilever’s Bru and Nestle’s Nescafe in the Rs 1,500-crore market.

Sunbean Beaten Caffe is a ready to use beaten coffee paste. Initially, it is being introduced in Delhi NCR before its national rollout.

Hemant Malik, Divisional Chief Executive (foods division), ITC, said, “Sunbean Beaten Caffe is an innovation that has been powered by a deep understanding of coffee consumption habits of Indian consumers and thereby converting the insights gathered into a breakthrough product.”

With this launch, ITC will increase packaged foods business, which drives the bulk of its new launches and currently accounts for 21.3% of its overall revenue

Sunbean Beaten Caffe is priced at Rs 130 for 125 grams, which is lower than Bru having a price tag of Rs 175 for 100 grams and Nescafe that costs Rs 254 for 100 grams. ITC is the third-largest listed packaged foods company in India.

Nestlé is planning to launch 'cook from raw' plant-based burgers in Europe and the United States in order to meet the rising demand for meat alternatives.

Nestle said, "Many consumers recognise that less meat in their diet is good for them and for the planet, but plant-based meat alternatives often do not live up to their expectations."

The company’s meat-free burgers will be launched in several European markets this month under the Garden Gourmet "Incredible Burger" brand. These burgers will be made from soy and wheat protein with beetroot, carrot, and bell pepper extracts tasted almost exactly like traditional beef burgers.

In the United States, Nestlé will roll out a plant-based range dubbed "Awesome Burgers" under its Sweet Earth brand from this autumn.

Wayne England, Head of Nestlé's Food Business, said, "These new burgers don't compromise on flavour, texture and cooking experience. They underline Nestlé's increased focus on tasty, authentic plant-based food. We believe this trend is here to stay, as consumers look at different ways to enjoy and balance their protein intake and lower the environmental footprint of their diets."

"We're proud of our ability to make healthy and sustainable food accessible to everyone through our trusted brands. This includes plant-based food products under our Garden Gourmet range in Europe and the Sweet Earth brand in the US," England added.

Nestle India on Thursday reported a 9.59% year-on-year increase in its net profit at Rs 341.76 crore for three months ended December 2018.

The FMCG major has also seen a 12% jump in domestic sales to Rs 2,690.51 crore.

ALSO READ: Nestle Eyes 3% Sales Growth In 2018

“We have, once again, delivered volume-led profitable growth. There has been double-digit growth in almost all the categories, supported by a step-up in demand generating activities including on new products,” said Suresh Narayanan, Chairman & MD, Nestle India by adding that their iconic brands like Maggi, Nescafe, Kitkat, Munch and Everyday continued to deliver strong performances.

The company follows the calendar year as its financial year so its earnings were for the fourth quarter.

The maker of instant Maggie noodles reported an 11.37% y-o-y increase in revenues to Rs 2,897.27 crore in the quarter.

MUST READ: Nestle To Start Ad Campaigns To Gain Trust In Maggi

Nestle’s Ebitda margins for the quarter contracted by 272 bps y-o-y to 19.3%, compared with 22.02% in Q4CY17. Consequently, the Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and ammortisation) decreased by 2.38% y-o-y to Rs 559.2 crore compared with Rs 572.85 crore in Q4CY17.

Cost of materials consumed for the quarter increased by 9.2% to Rs 1,200.36 crore from Rs 1,098.96 crore in Q4CY17.

Nestle India Ltd, the maker of Maggi instant noodles and Kit-Kat chocolates, has reported a 30% increase in net profit to Rs 446 crore in the quarter ended September 30, compared with Rs 343 crore a year earlier.

The company said, "For the quarter under review, revenue from operations grew by 17 per cent to Rs 2,939 crore. Total sales and domestic sales for the quarter increased by 16.8 per cent and 17.5 per cent respectively supported by broad-based volume growth on a base quarter in which GST was implemented."

Suresh Narayanan, Chairman & Managing Director, Nestle India said, "The quarter has witnessed another strong performance from the organisation, as we continue to deliver broad-based volume driven growth." 

"The company has stepped up marketing activities in a bid to strengthen its brands. We are witnessing headwinds in commodity and crude oil prices coupled with currency depreciation," he added.

Recently, Nestle launched Nescafe-E coffee machine, Special Masala variant for Maggi Noodles, and Maggi Dip and Spread.

Food group Nestle is looking to grow its sales by around 3% in 2018. The company's plan came after strong trading in North America and China pushed up underlying sales in the third quarter.

The maker of KitKat chocolate bars and Nescafe instant coffee said, "We are starting to see improved momentum in North America and in our infant nutrition category globally. Our business in China continued to grow at a mid-single-digit pace."

Nestle offers products like baby food, medical food, bottled water, breakfast cereals, coffee and tea, confectionery, dairy products, ice cream, frozen food, pet foods, and snacks.

Nestlé has announced that it is cutting ties with IndoFood, one of Indonesia's largest palm oil companies, citing commercial reasons. With this, Nestlé would stop sourcing palm oil, either directly or indirectly, from IndoFood.

Recently, PepsiCo has also announced that it would be severing ties with IndoFoods.

Earlier, PepsiCo suspended sourcing palm oil from IndoAgri, one of IndoFood’s subsidiaries, after complaints of labour abuses surfaced from plantations. The complaints were further investigated by Rainforest Action Network, the International Labour Rights Forum and Indonesian labour rights group Oppuk.

Fatah Sadaoui, campaigns manager, SumOfUs, an international consumer watchdog, stated, "Nestlé made the right decision in ending its joint venture partnership with Indofood. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil now has to send a strong message to Indofood and other palm oil suppliers clearing rainforests, abusing workers and destroying orangutan habitat by suspending Indofood."

"Nestlé's decision is also a reminder for PepsiCo that it is time put its money where its mouth is and either bring Indofood in line with its No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation commitment or put an end to their joint venture partnership," Fatah added.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has shortlisted Nestle, Unilever and Coca-Cola for the second round of bidding for its Indian nutrition business, which includes the Horlicks brand. GSK will sell 72.5% stake in its Indian subsidiary.

The auction process had witnessed some of the world's biggest food and drinks companies including PepsiCo, General Mills, Reckitt Benckiser, Danone, and Kellogg's compete alongside homegrown ITC and private equity buyout funds such as KKR to purchase the GSK's consumer portfolio.

Earlier, ITC has withdrawn itself from the bidding race as it is of the view that the brands do not fit its portfolio.

Some bidders have opted out of the race while others were not shortlisted for the second round. It's not clear how many bidders are still in the race.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc CEO Emma Walmsley had earlier said, "The company is initiating a strategic review of Horlicks and its other consumer healthcare nutrition products, and that it's exploring partial or full sale of its 72.5% stake in its Indian subsidiary GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare."

In a bid to fuel coffee consumption and push one of its mainstay brands Nescafe, packaged foods maker Nestle has forayed in the consumer-facing small appliances category.

The company is in the process to roll out app-based coffee machines. These machines will also be sold through non-FMCG distribution channels.

Suresh Narayanan, Chairman of Nestle, said, "We are seeing a surge of speciality coffee outlets, and coffee consumption is growing specially among millennial consumers." 

Last year, Nestle had crossed the Rs 10,000 crore sales threshold. The company said that India is among its first few markets to begin retailing the smartphone-connected machines.

दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी उपभोक्ता कंपनियां, नेस्ले, यूनिलीवर और कोका-कोला, भारतीय हॉर्लिक्स खरीदने के लिए बोली लगाने वालों में से हैं, जिनका स्वामित्व ग्लैक्सोस्मिथक्लाइन के पास है। बोलियों से $ 4 बिलियन से ज्यादा की कमाई की उम्मीद है।

तीनों दिग्गजों को उपभोक्ता सामान व्यापार के लिए प्रबल दावेदार माना जाता है, जो तेजी से बढ़ते उभरते बाजार में महत्वपूर्ण पद्चिह्न पेश कर रहा है।

जेम्स और विलियम होर्लिक द्वारा 1873 में स्थापित, हॉर्लिक्स एक माल्ट-आधारित पेय है। दोनों ने शुरुआत में शिकागो में एक कंपनी की स्थापना की थी, जहां वे पेय का निर्माण करते थे। पहले विश्व युद्ध में ब्रिटिश सेना के साथ लड़े सैनिक भारत में इस स्वास्थ्य पेय को लेकर आये।

होर्लिक्स बिजनेस हासिल करके, कोका-कोला पिछले महीने $ 5.1 बिलियन के लिए कोस्टा कॉफी खरीदने के सौदे के बाद एक और बहु ​​अरब डॉलर के अधिग्रहण को चिह्नित करेगा।

इस साल की शुरुआत में, जीएसके ने अपने छोटे यूके हॉर्लिक्स बिजनेस को अमीया फूड्स को एक अनजान राशि के लिए बेच दिया।

Some of the world's biggest consumer companies, Nestle, Unilever and Coca-Cola, are among bidders for buying Indian Horlicks which is owned by GlaxoSmithKline. Bids are expected to fetch more than $4 billion.

The three consumer goods giants are seen as frontrunners for a business, which is offering a significant footprint in a fast-growing emerging market.

Founded in 1873 by James and William Horlick, Horlicks is a malt-based drink. They both had initially set up a company in Chicago where they manufacture the drink. The soldiers who fought with the British Army in the First World War brought the health drink in India.

By acquiring the Horlicks business, Coca-Cola would mark another multibillion-dollar acquisition, following a deal to buy Costa Coffee for $5.1 billion last month.

Earlier this year, GSK sold its much smaller UK Horlicks business to Aimia Foods for an undisclosed amount.

Swiss food giant Nestle has sealed a $7.15 billion deal to market products of US coffee giant Starbucks globally. The deal grants Nestle perpetual rights to sell Starbucks products outside of the US company's coffee shops.

Mark Schneider, Nestle’s CEO, said, “With Starbucks, Nescafe and Nespresso, we bring together the world's most iconic coffee brands. The outstanding collaboration between the two teams resulted in a swift completion of this agreement, which will pave the way to capture further growth opportunities."

The $7.15 billion deal will significantly boost Nestle's portfolio in North America. It will also result in shifting of about 500 Starbucks employees in the United States and Europe to Nestle.

Kevin Johnson, CEO of Starbucks, said, "Bringing together the world's leading coffee retailer, the world's largest food and beverage company, and the world's largest and fast-growing installed base of at-home and single-serve coffee machines helps us amplify the Starbucks brand around the world while delivering long-term value creation for our shareholders."

FMCG major Nestle India's market valuation has surged past Rs 1 lakh crore mark helped by a rally in its share price.

The company's market valuation stood at Rs 1,01,541.66 crore at close of trade on BSE today.

Shares of the company gained 3.14 per cent to end at Rs 10,531.65 on BSE. During the day, it surged 3.55 per cent to Rs 10,574 -- its 52-week high.

At NSE, shares of the company went up by 3 per cent to close at Rs 10,511.75.

Led by the gain in the stock, the company's market valuation rose by Rs 3,096.66 crore to Rs 1,01,541.66 crore on BSE.

Nestle has also become the third FMCG company after Hindustan Unilever and ITC to command a market valuation of more than Rs 1 lakh crore.

HUL's m-cap stood at Rs 3,64,470.22 crore and that of ITC was Rs 3,29,355.98 crore.

The stock of Nestle has gained over 34 per cent so far this year.

Nestlé India announces the launch of NESPLUS - a range of nutritious and delicious breakfast cereals for the entire family. A unique combination of wholegrain and multigrain, NESPLUS breakfast cereals aim to offer an array of healthy breakfast choices for Indian families.

The new range of NESPLUS breakfast cereals comes with four multigrain variants – Kokos, Choco- Burst Fillows, Strawberry-Burst Fillows and Nutty Honey Granola. Each of these is a combination of four grains - wheat, rice, oats and the traditional Indian millet, jowar. This combination of grains along with unique flavors has been specially created for the Indian palate. A key characteristic of the product is that it remains crunchy in warm milk.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestlé India said, “Breakfast is considered to be the most important meal of the day and consuming the right breakfast sets the tone for the rest of the day. NESPLUS is specifically designed for the Indian consumer and offers Vitamin D, Calcium, B-Vitamins, Iron, Folic Acid and Fibre, making it a great addition to the breakfast table.”

With this launch, Nestlé India aims to provide high quality nutritious breakfast options for the Indian consumers in line with its vision to introduce products ingrained in nutrition, wellness and health.

Swiss-based food giant Nestle will pay Starbucks $7.15 billion as part of a global coffee alliance allowing the Swiss brand to market U.S. coffee company's products around the world outside Starbucks' coffee shops.

Starbucks said it will use proceeds to speed-up share buybacks and the deal would add to earnings per share (EPS) by 2021 at the latest. Nestle saw the deal adding to earnings by 2019.

Nestle and Starbucks are joining forces in a highly fragmented consumer drinks category that has seen a string of deals lately.

JAB Holdings, the private investment firm of Europe's billionaire Reimann family, has fueled the consolidation wave with a series of deals including Douwe Egberts, Peet's Coffee & Tea and Keurig Green Mountain, narrowing the gap with Nestle.

"This global coffee alliance will bring the Starbucks experience to the homes of millions more around the world through the reach and reputation of Nestle," said Starbucks Chief Executive Kevin Johnson.

Starbucks plans to use the proceeds to accelerate share buybacks and now expects to return approximately $20 billion in cash to shareholders in the form of share buybacks and dividends through the fiscal year 2020, it said.

It said the transaction was expected to add to earnings per share by the end of the fiscal year 2021 or sooner, with no change to the company's currently stated long-term financial targets.

In a separate statement, Nestle said it expected the business to contribute positively to its earnings per share and organic growth targets from 2019.

As part of the deal, Nestle, which will take on about 500 Starbucks employees without altering its buyback program.

Local candy makers, including Parle, ITC and DS Foods grabbed shares from multinationals in the Rs 7,500-crore confectionery segment, as per latest Nielsen data elicited from the familiar Industry officials.

Global firms such as Perfetti Van Melle, Mondelez and Nestle either remained stagnant or lost share last calendar year, hurt by higher prices of their wares in a stressed market due to demonetisation. Marketers feel even a 50 paise price hike could impact growth in the price sensitive category.

The candy companies went through the price revision like Mondelez India relaunched Halls from 50 paise earlier to Rs 1 and doubled its price of Choclairs to Rs 2 while Perfetti Van Melle India launched most of its candies including Alpenliebe at Rs 1 and upwards. Parle Products, however, kept their product prices unchanged. “Post demonetisation, lot of lower denomination currency came back into circulation that had helped sales for a 50 paise product.

Category head at Parle Products that sells brands including Mango Bite and Poppins B Krishna Rao said, “But at the same time, the practice of consumers accepting a Rs 1 toffee from grocers stopped to a large extent. Parle gained 160bps in 2017 with 16% in the confectionery space, while Perfetti lost share marginally by 20bps at 10.2%. Including chewing gums, Perfetti is by far the market leader controlling nearly a quarter of the overall market. As a category, the entire industry has been trying to move to Rs 1 price point after increase in the price of sugar, other raw materials and even packaging costs.”

One of the spokesperson said, “The focus has been on premiumisation with significant growth achieved for the Rs 1 and above portfolio in the confectionery segment. Growth has been achieved through introduction of differentiated offerings under the Candyman range.” To be sure, India’s leading chocolate makers too posted near decade-low growth in sales last fiscal, as health-conscious consumers cut back on discretionary buying in a slowing economy.

Mondelez, India’s largest chocolate maker and Nestle’s chocolate divisions saw sales rise by about 6% each in the year to March 2017 — better than a year ago but far from the double-digit growth the candy rivals have seen in most of the last decade. Yet, they remain bullish in the candy segment that has also seen a rush of new players both from large food companies such as DS foods as well as regional local brands.

Associate director Amit Shah said, “As leaders in chocolates and strong challengers in other categories we operate in, we continue to invest and innovate our brands,” marketing (gum, candy & beverages) at Mondelez India, that sell Halls and Cadbury Choclairs. Perfetti too posted below 1% growth for the second consecutive year last fiscal and said competition is getting intense, especially in the candies segment.

In the annual filing with Registrar of Companies, it said, “Whilst we had moved much of our portfolio from the 50 paise price point to Rs 1, with product value addition, the bulk of the market stays at 50 paise, leading to strong market challenges.”

Global Food major, Nestle SA is set to launch its first organic food line in Brazil in the coming weeks owing to its efforts to make a global push to capture growing interest in healthy and organic products.

Brazil executive manager for dairy and cereals, Carine Malher, said Nestle was planning to sell 1 million boxes of organic oatmeal and oat bran products in the country this year.

The company's previously unannounced foray into Brazil's organic foods segment is relatively minor in global terms. Each box of oatmeal and bran has a suggested price of 6.99 reais ($2.16), meaning the company projects slightly over $2 million of sales in the first year. But the move fits into a more ambitious organic growth program by Nestle.

Malher said the company was actively developing a number of organic products in various "distinct units" in Brazil, while looking at acquisitions that could increase Nestle's presence in the country's still-modest organic foods market. The company should launch organic milk offerings in the first quarter of 2019 and Nestle also has an internal start-up in Brazil developing organic-based snacks. "We have the oats, we have the organic milk, and we have more business units working on other products, so there is commitment to more organic offering,” he added.

Early this year, Nestle bought a majority stake in Terrafertil, an Ecuadorian company selling natural and organic plant-based foods. Nestle had also purchased Canadian vitamin maker Atribum Innovations for $2.3 billion in November 2017 and announced deals for Sweet Earth vegetarian foods, Blue Bottle coffee, and Chameleon Cold-Brew coffee.

Mahler said Nestle already has a distribution contract for the new organic line with supermarket chain Pao de Acucar, owned by GPA, one of Brazil's two major food retailers, and is planning to sell through many other retailers.

Swiss FMCG major Nestle announced its foray into pet care segment in India by launching premium dog food through its step down firm Nestle Purina.

The company has launched Purina Supercoat range of dog food, which offers a wholesome combination of high quality natural ingredients, Nestle said in a statement.

"With the launch of Supercoat in India we kick starts our mission to raise the standards for pet nutrition. We will bring our global portfolio to India to cater to these consumers and become a significant player in the rapidly growing pet food category” quoted Purina PetCare India MD Varindra Sewak.

Pet owners are becoming increasingly aware and focusing on providing best nutrition to their pets and have fuelled the demand for high quality specialised pet food.

According to the company, India has 19 million estimated pets and the pet food industry in India has huge potential and is expected to double in size in the next five years.

Nestle will launch a ruby chocolate version of its Kitkat brand in Japan and South Korea this month, becoming the first consumer brand to market the new variety developed by Barry Callebaut.

Barry Callebaut said in a statement that KITKAT Chocolatory Sublime Ruby' will be available from Friday, January 19, in time for Valentine's Day. Ruby Chocolate which is used in Kitkat has a fresh berry-fruity taste and characteristic colour. Ruby chocolate is made from the ruby cocoa bean. No berries, berry flavour or colour are added.

Barry Callebaut unveiled the ruby variety in September, creating a fourth kind of chocolate in addition to dark, milk and white.

Nestle has sold two of its tea brands in North America as the world's biggest food maker presses ahead with reshaping its business to focus on new consumer trends and healthcare.

Private equity firm Fireman Capital Partners said it has linked up with Dunn's River Brands to buy the Sweet Leaf Tea and Tradewinds businesses from Nestle North America.

Under Chief Executive Mark Schneider, who took over this year, Nestle has embarked upon an overhaul of its brands and strategy as it seeks to overcome sluggish growth in its traditional businesses.

Earlier this month the Swiss company announced the purchase of Canadian vitamin maker Atrium Innovations for $2.3 billion, its fourth purchase in recent months.

It has bought Sweet Earth vegetarian foods and Blue Bottle coffee in September and Chameleon Cold-Brew coffee in November as it adjusts to a market where customers favour smaller, independent brands.

Nestle, the maker of Gerber baby food, Purina pet food and Nescafe coffee came under pressure this year to improve returns from activist shareholder Third Point. It has since announced a share buyback and a margin target.

Nestle announced its second small coffee acquisition, buying Texas-based Chameleon Cold-Brew as to bolster its world-leading coffee business. Maker of Nescafe and Nespresso said Chameleon is the No.1 organic cold-brew brand in the United States.

Nestle, which took a majority stake in Blue Bottle Coffee in September, is trying to reignite slowing sales by snapping up small independent brands that appeal to younger consumers.

Nestle, also faces a specific threat from JAB Holding, a private investment company that has grown fast through a string of coffee deals in recent years, from mainstream players such as Douwe Egberts and Keurig to higher-end artisanal brands Stumptown and Intelligentsia. Speculation that JAB could acquire Dunkin Brands resurfaced this week, sending shares of that coffee and doughnut chain operator to record highs.

Packaged food rivals across the sector, from Campbell Soup to Unilever, are taking similar steps as health-conscious and brand-savvy shoppers shun traditional big brands while social media helps start-ups to grow faster.

Following criticism for being too slow to react to consumers' changing habits, Nestle is taking steps to improve its performance under new CEO Mark Schneider.

Nestle spoke person Roger Lowe said “Nestle is leaving the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), a lobby group that represents hundreds of food companies in Washington. It will leave at year-end. The move comes during a tumultuous time for food manufacturers facing new labelling requirements and squeezed margins as consumers shun conventional packaged food. Nestle's participation in GMA will be missed, and we hope there will be a time when they will rejoin us.”

GMA spent more than $6 million lobbying last year on issues including disclosure of genetically engineered (GMO) ingredients and an overhaul of nutrition labelling requirements, according to congressional filings.

Companies including Nestle have taken differing positions from the GMA on some of those issues, wanting to placate consumers who say they want more transparency and information about supply chains. Where GMA lobbied heavily against labelling of GMO, Nestle has publicly supported disclosure of those ingredients.

FMCG-major, Nestle, plans to set up a second KitKat factory in Japan to strengthen its supply system and respond to overseas demand for flavours such as green tea and sake.

The new Himeji plant will provide premium products under the KitKat Chocolatory range as demand from foreign tourists increases.

It was also be used to develop new KitKat products to build on the current line which includes flavours such as purple sweet potato, wasabi and strawberry cheesecake.

The facility will open on 1 August and be supported by a communications campaign within Japan.

Swiss food group, Nestle has acquired a minority stake in US-based ready meals startup Freshly, its latest step to improve the health profile of its sprawling portfolio.

Nestle said it was lead investor in a round of new funding for Freshly, helping it gain access to the $10 billion market for prepared meals in the United States. It did not disclose financial terms.

The investment will help Freshly build a new East Coast kitchen and distribution centre in 2018 as it prepares to expand its U.S. service nationwide.

Nestle USA's Food Division President Jeff Hamilton would join Freshly's board of directors. 

Swiss- based food giant, Nestle is considering a sale of its US candy business, which makes classics like the Butterfinger candy bar, Raisinets and Nerds.

The company said that it will wrap up a review of strategic options for the business by the end of 2017. Nestle says the review doesn't affect its Toll House baking products in the U.S. or Kit Kat overseas.

In the United States, Kit Kat is licensed to Hershey and is not part of Nestle's portfolio.

Earlier this year, the company said that candy sales in 2016 were disappointing, and global pricing pressure has forced it to cut costs.

According to the global food giant, its candy unit represents about 3 percent of its US sales. 

FMCG major Nestle India has reported an increase of 6.76 per cent in net profit to Rs 306.76 crore for the first quarter this year, driven by volume growth across products including Maggi noodles.

The company, which follows January-December period as financial year, had posted a net profit of Rs 287.32 crore for the March quarter of last fiscal.

Its net sales during the quarter under review were at Rs 2,575.74 crore, up 9.10 per cent as against Rs 2,360.80 crore a year ago, Nestle said in a BSE filing.

Suresh Narayanan, CMD, Nestle India, said, "Innovation and renovation, as also volume based growth, are core business strategies outlined by Nestle India almost 18 months back and I am pleased that this strategy is now playing an important role."

During the quarter, domestic sales moved up 9.74 per cent to Rs 2,409.34 crore as against Rs 2,195.46 crore in the corresponding period a year earlier.

Nestle said, "Domestic Sales increased by 9.7 per cent mainly due to increase in volumes across product groups, including rebuild of the Maggi noodles, supplemented by marginally better realisations mostly from carry over pricing."

However, its exports were almost flat at Rs 166.40 crore as against Rs 165.34 crore.

Nestle added, "The growth of 0.6 per cent in exports was largely impacted by lower sales to Nepal and Bhutan."

Nestle's total expenses in the first quarter were up 12.81 per cent at Rs 2,153.46 crore as against Rs 1,908.85 crore.

The company's stock settled at Rs 6,819.55, down 0.48 per cent, on BSE

Nestle India is exploring ways to bring some products from its 2,000 global brands to the country and also reduce dependency on a single brand, a top company official has said.

Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestle India, said, "We have 2,000 brands globally and we will be exploring ways to bring some of them to this market. We are also looking at reducing the dependency on a single brand by ensuring all categories contribute to the overall growth."

Nestle hopes to be part of the consumer journey through life, by enhancing the nutrition credentials of its many brands, fortifying those that are relevant and addressing in a small yet significant way the health issues facing the society, he added.

He said, "The year 2016 will always remain a very important in our history as we bounced back to business after the Maggi noodles incident. But the trust in our brand Maggi noodles enabled us to quickly regain leadership position with 60 per cent market share."

Nestle India is strengthening its milk products and nutrition portfolio along with expanding coffee and beverages portfolio in the domestic market. It is also looking at more offerings in the chocolate and confectionery portfolio.

ITC aims to outrun Nestle and Britannia as the leader of India’s packaged-foods industry in the next two-three years, crowning the two-decade transformation of the century old tobacco giant into a diversified consumer-goods company.

Hemant Malik, Divisional Chief Executive, Food Business, said that the formula for dominance in the increasingly competitive packaged foods industry would be accelerated introduction of new products, and entry into seven-eight newer categories.

He said, "We are constantly evaluating different categories, and our R&D team is working on multiple products that would be superior and differentiated. A lot of back-end exploratory work is going on."

ITC is said to be evaluating staples and edible oil, health foods, and value-added dairy products as categories it might enter.

The maker of Sunfeast biscuits and Bingo chips is now the third-largest player in the packaged foods market, with Rs 7,097 crore sales in 2015-16.

By contrast, Nestle had Rs 8,175 crore sales in calendar 2015, and Britannia reported Rs 7,947 crore revenue in 2015-16.

ITC plans to introduce about 40 new food products in the next year – a record for ITC – and sell premium chocolates and coffee through retail chains and online stores.

Malik said the 40 new differentiated products will not only be variants, but also new products. ITC’s foods business is expected to be the majority contributor to its goal of achieving a turnover of Rs 1 lakh crore from its non-cigarette FMCG businesses by 2030. The company is expecting Rs 60,000 crore to Rs 65,000 crore will be generated from the foods business by then.

Malik said, "We can achieve our goal, given the huge opportunities that lie in every segment, and the GDP growth rate that India will be witnessing over the years. ITC has forayed into multiple categories and we are constantly expanding our portfolio of offerings."

Nestlé MUNCH, one of Nestlé India's most popular brands in the chocolate and confectionery category, has associated with India's mega movie franchise Baahubali for the release of Baahubali 2, The Conclusion.

As the film buffs gear up for the year’s most anticipated movie, the partnership will be activated through the launch of five new MUNCH limited edition packs and a high decibel television campaign, supported by exclusive social media content.

Nikhil Chand, General Manager, Chocolates and Confectionery, Nestlé India, said, "India is a growing chocolate and confectionery market, and there is a need for excitement and innovation in this category. Importantly, MUNCH enjoys a clear leadership in the coated wafer segment and it is a conscious effort always to partner with popular and yet unique platforms. 

We are very pleased to be associated with Baahubali 2 as this will help us engage with our consumers in a more exciting way. Baahubali has been a multilingual blockbuster and has won the hearts of millions, and the current partnership, brings alive a similar proposition of Nestlé MUNCH as one of the most popular and loved brands in the country."

FMCG major Nestle has launched a milk beverage 'Milo' for children with less than 10 grams of sugar per pack.

In a statement, the company said, "We are delighted to introduce MILO ready to drink, a cocoa-malt milk beverage crafted specially for growing children."

Arvind Bhandari, General Manager, Nestle India said, "The Milo brand encourages participation in sports from an early stage in life."

The drink will be available in major urban centres, as well as select e-commerce platforms.

Swiss food giant Nestle SA and U.S. candy and pet food company Mars have made a commitment to take steps to ensure their pet food supply chains are free from human rights abuses and illegally caught seafood.

Nestle and Mars, the makers of Pedigree and Purina pet food have made a statement that they would reduce or eliminate seafood that has been moved by fishing companies from one vessel to another in a practice that enables ships to stay at sea longer.

Nestle has pledged ban on transshipment at sea in its supply chains, while Mars has decided to suspend the use of transshipped products if its seafood suppliers did not tackle problems with the practice.

Transshipment is a process that provides an opportunity for vessels to unload illegally caught seafood into supply chains, and allows ships to conceal abuses against crew members away from port.

Jack Scott, head of sustainability for Nestle Purina PetCare Inc., said, "Over the past several years, Nestle and Greenpeace have worked together to strengthen Nestle's policies governing the procurement and responsible sourcing of seafood."

In a statement, mars said that it recognised the risks of transshipment, and was committed to working with its suppliers to remedy the problems.

Isabelle Aelvoet, global sustainability director of Mars Petcare, said, “But if we cannot resolve these issues to our satisfaction quickly, we will seek to end the use of transshipped products in our supply chains until these serious problems are fixed.”

There has been an increasing pressure on International companies from consumers and governments to be transparent about how and where their products are sourced amid greater awareness of abuses in supply chains.

According to Greenpeace, the move by the world's two largest pet food companies would put "significant" pressure on suppliers to end labor abuses.