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☆ Nestle buys majority stake in Brazilian premium chocolate maker
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsZURICH, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Nestle (NESN.S) is buying a majority stake in Brazilian premium chocolate maker Grupo CRM, the Swiss food group said on Thursday. Grupo CRM operates a direct-to-consumer model, with more than 1,000 chocolate boutiques under the Kopenhagen and Brasil Cacau brands and a strong, growing online presence, Nestle said. The executive has been with the company for 25 years and has built up and significantly expanded Grupo CRM, which currently only operates in Brazil. In June, Brazilian competition regulator Cade approved Nestle's acquisition of Chocolates Garoto more than 20 years after it was first announced. Among the conditions for the approval, the company agreed not to make any acquisitions that account for at least 5% of the Brazilian chocolate market for five years.

Persons: Arnd, Nestle, Valor Economico, Renata Moraes Vichi, Laurent Freixe, Cade, John Revill, Friederike Heine, Janane Organizations: Nestle, REUTERS, Rights, Grupo CRM, Brasil, Advent International, Valor, Grupo, Thomson Locations: Konolfingen, Switzerland, Swiss, Brazil

The "AI for business" diploma offers training in data and AI for client leaders, practitioners, and WPP executives, according to WPP's website. The team work under AI expert Daniel Hulme who was appointed chief AI officer at WPP two years ago. While lawmakers and philosophers alike still debate whether content produced by generative AI models amounts to anything like human creativity, advertisers have already begun using the technology in their promotional campaigns. Unilever, which owns more than 400 brands including Dove soap and Ben & Jerry's ice cream, has its own generative AI technology that can write product descriptions for retailers' websites and digital commerce sites, it said. The company's TRESemmé haircare brand has used its AI content generator for written content and its automation tool for visual content on Amazon.co.uk (AMZN.O).

Persons: Mark Read, Read, we've, Mondelez, Shah Rukh Khan, Daniel Hulme, Nestle, Gandon, Ray, Johannes Vermeer's, Aaron Rajan, Nestle's Gandon, Martin Sorrell, You've, Ben King, Richa Naidu, Martin Coulter, Matt Scuffham, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Nestle, Unilever, Marketing, Investment, Reuters, WPP, Oreo, Cadbury, Bollywood, YouTube, Facebook, University of Oxford, Global, Google, Go, Market Technology, Consumer, Walmart, Carrefour, Kroger, Thomson Locations: Africa, India, London, Swiss, Okta

LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Nestle (NESN.S) improved its full-year organic sales outlook and reported better-than-expected first-half organic sales, as the world's biggest packaged food company again raised prices to cope with higher input costs. Nestle said it is narrowing its full-year organic sales growth guidance - which does not include the impact of currency movements and acquisitions - to a range of 7%-8% from a range of 6-8%. Real internal growth - or sales volumes - fell 0.8% versus expectations of a 0.6% decline. "We're still repairing our gross margin," he added. Reckitt reported sales volumes for the second quarter were down 4.3%, Unilever's quarterly volumes were down 0.3% and Danone's second-quarter volume/mix declined 2.3%.

Persons: Nestle, Mark Schneider, Schneider, Jean, Philippe Bertschy, Reckitt, Richa Naidu, Kim Coghill, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Nestle, Unilever, Thomson Locations: Swiss, Ukraine

☆ Kraft Heinz looks to revive Maxwell House brand with new instant iced latte with foam
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

At 131 years old, Maxwell House is no spring chicken, and most of its loyal drinkers aren't either. But Kraft Heinz is looking to revive the coffee brand by appealing to younger consumers with its new iced latte with foam, its first product launch in nearly a decade. Even within the instant coffee segment, Maxwell House ranks third, trailing Nestle's Nescafe and JM Smuckers' Folgers in U.S. market share, according to Euromonitor International data. But with its new Iced Latte with Foam, Maxwell House hopes to bridge that gap and win over new customers. The iced latte with foam is available nationwide at major retailers and on Amazon and comes in three flavors: vanilla, hazelnut and caramel.

Persons: Maxwell, aren't, Kraft Heinz, Nescafe, Smuckers, Dunkin Organizations: Maxwell House, Euromonitor, Starbucks, Maxwell, Kraft Locations: U.S

Last week, for instance, Nigeria's central bank allowed the naira currency to drop as much as 36% on the official market. Nestle, which is replacing imported corn starch in Nigeria with cassava starch, told Reuters it has helped seven local suppliers to boost capacity to meet the company's supply needs. ONION POWDER AND TURMERICNestle said it was working to develop local suppliers of vegetables and spices used in Maggi products, for instance onion powder in Nigeria and Senegal, and turmeric powder in Nigeria. Nestle did not comment on whether its position in Nigeria would help insulate it from foreign exchange volatility, neither did it give an indication of the economic impact of the local sourcing. ($1 = 0.8967 Swiss francs)Reporting by Richa Naidu; Editing by Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Arnd, Kat, Nestle, Richa Naidu, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Swiss, Nestle, REUTERS, LONDON, Reuters, Unilever, Thomson Locations: Bern, Konolfingen, Switzerland, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Swiss, Asia, East, Africa

LONDON/BERLIN, May 30 (Reuters) - Nestle (NESN.S), the world's biggest packaged food company, said on Tuesday it had hired the London Stock Exchange Group's (LSEG) finance chief Anna Manz as its new chief financial officer. Manz will replace Francois-Xavier Roger, who the company said is stepping down to "pursue new professional challenges" after eight years in the role. Nestle, whose more than 2,000 brands include Kit Kat, Haagen-Dazs and Nescafe, said Manz will join Nestle as soon as she is released from her current duties. "We trust that Anna will pursue Francois' legacy, considering her strong career at Diageo," Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy said. Rival Unilever Plc (ULVR.L) also said on Tuesday that CFO Graeme Pitkethly would leave the consumer goods giant by the end of May 2024 after more than two decades.

☆ How Nestlé is futureproofing its coffee business from bean to cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHow Nestlé is futureproofing its coffee business from bean to cupCNBC's Julianna Tatelbaum visits Nestlé's Institute of Agricultural Sciences in Lausanne, Switzerland, to see how the global food and drinks giant is futureproofing its coffee product portfolio.

☆ Nestlé R&D lead on the products and packaging of the future
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNestlé R&D lead on the products and packaging of the futureCNBC's Julianna Tatelbaum gets special rare access to Nestlé's research and development center in Lausanne, Switzerland, where scientists are working to increase sustainability across the entire portfolio.

[1/2] The logo of chocolate and cocoa product maker Barry Callebaut is pictured during the company's annual news conference in Zurich, Switzerland, Nov. 7, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File PhotoApril 5 (Reuters) - Switzerland's Barry Callebaut (BARN.S), the world's biggest chocolate maker, on Wednesday appointed Peter Feld as its new chief executive after lowering sales volume guidance as inflation-hit consumers cut back on purchases. The chocolate maker now forecasts full-year volume growth to be "flat to modest," Chief Financial Officer Ben De Schryver said. Barry Callebaut shares were down 2.5%, according to Julius Baer bank's pre-market indications. The company said that the sales volumes decline moderated in the second quarter, slowing to -0.5%, from -5.1% in the previous quarter.

☆ Chocolate maker Barry Callebaut's half year sales volumes drop
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] The logo of chocolate and cocoa product maker Barry Callebaut is pictured during the company's annual news conference in Zurich, Switzerland, Nov. 7, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File PhotoApril 5 (Reuters) - Barry Callebaut (BARN.S), the world's biggest chocolate maker, on Wednesday reported lower half year sales volumes due to limited availability of its global brands and lower customer demand due by inflation. The Zurich-based company, which supplies chocolate for the Magnum ice creams made by Unilever (ULVR.L) and for Nestle's (NESN.S) KitKat bars, said sales volumes in its first half of fiscal 2022/2023 fell 2.9% to 1.130 million tonnes. Reporting by Andrey Sychev and Paolo LaudaniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nestle sees price pressures easing -chairman tells newspaper
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, March 31 (Reuters) - Nestle (NESN.S) is seeing an easing of price pressures stemming from raw materials, transport and packaging costs, said Chairman Paul Bulcke, adding that company would still increase prices. "Price pressure is gradually easing," Bulcke told Swiss newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft in an interview published on Friday. Nestle increased its prices by 8.2% during 2022, but sales volumes - which it calls real internal growth - only increased by 0.1%. During the third and fourth quarters of last year, the maker of KitKat chocolate bars and Nescafe instant coffee suffered lower sales volumes as cash strapped consumers cut back. "For positive real internal growth on an annual basis, I remain confident," he told the newspaper.

☆ Analysis: To raise prices or not? Consumer goods makers weigh bets on buyer strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Jessica Dinapoli | Thomson Reuters | New York-Based Reporter Covering U.S. Consumer Products Spanning Paper Towels To Packaged Food | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But, there are small signs the pressure is easing, with U.S. consumer prices a month earlier declining for the first time in two-and-a-half years, due in part to gas prices. Price hikes - or halts - are set to take center stage at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York annual conference on Feb. 20 in Boca Raton, Florida. DIFFERENT PREDICTIONSAfter more than a year of consistent price hikes, some consumer goods makers such as Kraft Mac & Cheese manufacturer Kraft Heinz Co (KHC.O) are pressing pause as they weigh consumer demand for their items. Frozen pizza prices have risen about 14% in the last year, according to IRI data. "Retailers cannot truly push back on prices … if the company has an important brand," Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said.

☆ Nestlé, the world's biggest consumer food company, says it will keep hiking prices in 2023, and that its rivals will have to do the same
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Food and drinks conglomerate Nestlé says it will continue putting up prices in 2023. The Swiss conglomerate said at its fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday that the price increases would be targeted rather than across the board. Pet care, prepared dishes, cooking aids, milk products, and ice cream had the largest price increases globally. "In 2022, pricing became the largest contributor to growth," CFO François Roger said, meaning that price increases led to more growth in revenues as sales growth declined. Nestlé's upcoming rises will be justified by data "otherwise retail partners and consumers will simply not accept price increases," Schneider said.

☆ Costs could rise even more in 2023—and thousands of CEOs blame climate change
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Natasha Piñon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Their reason: climate change. Such incidents have led environmental experts and economists to establish a link between climate change and inflation. Climate change isn't considered a primary driver of today's inflation, but economists say the connection will deepen as the planet continues to warm — making the link more noticeable and acute. At the corporate level, only CEOs who feel directly exposed to climate change are likely to take steps to address it, PwC's survey found. Many company-driven climate efforts aren't even particularly successful, the report noted.

☆ Unilever's new CEO will inherit a company in flux
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Alex Bitter | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Two of the five divisions remain focused on food products, an area that CEO Jope said Unilever considered spinning off. Food brands like Ben & Jerry's and Hellmann's would have become a separate company. Unilever's decision last year to spin off its tea business into a new company, Ekaterra, left many workers inside Unilever's food division nervous, the former employee said. One former Unilever executive pointed to Fernando Fernandez, who will assume the top job at the company's new beauty and wellbeing division. Fernandez has been Unilever's executive vice president for Latin America since 2019 and held other jobs with the company in the region before that.

☆ Candy maker Ferrero to buy Halo Top owner, expanding North American business
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Candy maker Ferrero is buying Wells Enterprises, the ice cream giant that owns Blue Bunny, Blue Ribbon Classics and Halo Top. Comfort food staples like ice cream and candy saw their sales soar during the pandemic as consumers looked for ways to treat themselves. For its part, Ferrero reported global consolidated revenue of 12.7 billion euros ($13.3 billion) in its fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2021. Wells Enterprises was founded in 1913 and has grown to be the second-largest ice cream company in the U.S., trailing only Ben & Jerry's owner Unilever . Wells makes more than 200 million gallons of ice cream annually and has more than 4,000 employees.

☆ Nestle's Nespresso to sell paper-based compostable coffee pods
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nespresso CEO Guillaume Le Cunff told Reuters that not all customers were aware that its aluminium capsules are recyclable, and may be more comfortable with the compressed paper pulp pods. It's an alternative for sustainable options," Le Cunff said in an interview. "You can compost the paper capsules or recycle the aluminium ones. Nor was the launch "greenwashing", Le Cunff said as Nespresso had long been committed to recycling. The brand had also been resilient during previous economic crises, so Le Cunff was confident about its future.

☆ Baby formula maker Perrigo buying Nestle's Good Start brand, Wisconsin plant
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Jessica Dinapoli | Thomson Reuters | New York-Based Reporter Covering U.S. Consumer Products Spanning Paper Towels To Packaged Food | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Infant formula manufacturer Perrigo Company Plc (PRGO.N) said on Tuesday it is buying the Good Start brand and a Wisconsin plant that makes the product from Nestle SA (NESN.S), as U.S. retailers recover from shortages of the good. The deal is part of a $170 million investment that Perrigo is making in its U.S. infant formula manufacturing. The investment includes $60 million to expand the plant's capacity by roughly 100 million eight-ounce bottles each year. Nestle has sent cans of specialized Alfamino formula and NAN from Europe to help try to alleviate the shortage earlier this year. Perrigo will supply Nestle with Good Start formula so the company can fulfill its contracts with the Women, Infants and Children program, which helps poor families afford the item.

☆ Nestle India's profit tops estimates on price hikes, demand rebound
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Nestle India (NEST.NS) reported a bigger-than-expected rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, benefiting from price increases and a rebound in demand for its chocolates and packaged foods in rural areas. The Maggi noodles maker's profit rose 8.3% to 6.68 billion Indian rupees ($81.1 million) in the quarter ended Sept. 30. Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 6.57 billion rupees, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. "Growth has been very strong in the large metros and mega cities and continued to be robust across smaller town classes, including rural markets," Nestle India Managing Director Suresh Narayanan said in a statement. However, analysts says that certain categories, including noodles and biscuits, defied the trend as people consider such items small treats during economic downturns, adding to Nestle's resilient urban sales momentum.

☆ This pandemic consumer trend is still going strong. How to get behind it
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

As CNBC Pro has previously reported, pet ownership in the U.S . is booming, and will help sustain a higher level of sales in the coming years. However, that 4% increase in pet ownership has resulted in an 11% gain in pet spending, it said. "Despite now being [circa] 30 months away from the start of the pandemic, pet care is still going strong," AllianceBernstein analysts wrote. That pace is faster than 8% global growth rate from 2021 to 2022 predicted by Euromonitor and Bernstein analysis, the report said. It owns Diana Pet Foods, and is the leading pet food ingredients company.

☆ Abbott is recalling baby formula again after discovering faulty bottle caps on Similac products produced at Ohio facility
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Abbott is recalling Similac baby formula products due to faulty bottle caps that may cause spoilage. The announcement comes after Abbott's February formula recall that prompted a national crisis. The company issued a voluntary recall on Friday for several Similac ready-to-feed liquid products produced at its Columbus, Ohio facility. The announcement comes after Abbott recalled baby formula products in February when strains of a potentially deadly bacterial virus were found at a manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan. The recall led to a widespread shortage of baby formula, from which many retailers are still struggling to recover.

☆ Unilever is losing its CEO Alan Jope as the company finds itself at an inflection point. Insiders have questioned the massive reorganization and the entrenched 'too nice' culture he presided over.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Alex Bitter | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Editor's note: On Sunday, Unilever said that CEO Alan Jope will retire at the end of 2023. It looks at some of the challenges that Jope and Unilever faced in streamlining its structure through the reorganization, including a culture that is 'too nice' at times. Two of the five divisions remain focused on food products, an area that CEO Jope said Unilever considered spinning off. One former Unilever executive pointed to Fernando Fernandez, who will assume the top job at the company's new beauty and wellbeing division. Fernandez has been Unilever's executive vice president for Latin America since 2019 and held other jobs with the company in the region before that.

Jars of Nescafe Gold coffee by Nestle are pictured in the supermarket of Nestle headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, February 13, 2020. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has propelled energy and grain prices to all-time highs, driving up the cost of packaged goods. That has been felt particularly acutely in parts of Asia and North Africa, where people spend a higher proportion of income on food and fuel than in the United States and Europe, prompting some shoppers to stockpile non-perishable items. "Nestle is seeing hoarding with bouillon, to an extent soups, coffee for sure," Al Bitar told Reuters. Several countries in North Africa and Central Asia are suffering recurring shortages of basic necessities.

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