Swiss multinational Nestlé achieved 2.8% organic sales growth, with 0.7% real internal growth (RIG) in Q1, despite rising commodity prices pushing product prices higher for consumers.
“In an environment of heightened macroeconomic and consumer uncertainty, Nestlé delivered organic sales growth,” says Nestlé CEO Laurent Freixe.
Growth was achieved across a wide range of markets and categories, with Freixe highlighting Nestlé’s improving market share trends across multiple businesses, particularly billionaire brands.
But some sectors proved more successful than others.
Chocolate and coffee lead growth
Strongest organic growth was achieved in confectionery (8.9%) and coffee (5.1%), with double-digit increases in some markets.
Nestlé Health Science also saw strong organic growth, though this had slowed to 4.2%.
PetCare, a major growth focus area for Nestlé, saw organic sales up 1.6%.
Prioritising growth
“Our 277,000 committed colleagues are focused on successfully executing our strategy: driving efficiencies and investing for growth to accelerate our categories and improve market share,” says Freixe.
The ‘Fuel for Growth’ cost savings programme, established in 2024, is aimed at providing the resources to help accelerate performance.
“In the quarter, we invested to strengthen our core business, achieved good consumer traction in the roll-out of our ‘big bet’ innovations such as Nescafé Espresso Concentrate, and saw some encouraging early improvements in our largest underperforming business cells,” says Freixe. “We are continuing to make changes throughout the organisation to increase alignment and focus, with steps to harmonise our structure in Zone Europe and enhance our capabilities in R&D.”
Remaining cautious
Despite the positive outlook Nestle, known for popular brands including Shreddies, KitKat and Nespresso, remains cautiously optimistic.
“Performance in the first quarter was in line with our expectations, and our 2025 guidance remains unchanged,” says Freixe.
This guidance refers to Nestlé’s announcement in October 2024 that is was to cut profit predictions as a result of a weakening market.
The food and beverage giant is also impacted by the current tariffs and is focussing on its ability to adapt.
“The indirect impacts – on consumers and customers, as well as currencies and commodity prices – remain unclear at this stage," says Freixe. “Overall, the situation continues to be dynamic, with heightened risks and uncertainty.”
