The secret of Nestle’s success lies in its inventions & innovations and mergers and acquisitions. Especially, the mergers and acquisitions of Nestle enabled Nestle to build a robust IPR Portfolio and further assisted in rapid expansion. Let us have a look at the Nestle’s impressive M&A (Mergers & Acquisitions).
The Nestle Company was founded in the year 1866 and in 1905 Nestle Merged with Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company to form what is now known as the nestlé group. During the 1st world war which broke out in the year 1914 there was a huge demand for condensed milk and chocolate. Shortage of raw materials and restrictions on cross-border trade hampered production. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, the company acquired factories in USA and Australia. By the end of the war it has 40 factories.
In 1916 Nestle acquired Norwegian dairy company Egron with the acquisition came the patent for spray-drying process for producing milk powder which nestle became a product of nestle.
In 1929 Nestle acquired Switzerland’s largest chocolate company Peter-Cailler-Kohler. Cailler is Switzerland’s first chocolate brands started in the year 1819 by François Louis Cailler.
By Firmin Bouisset - Sammlung Marc Wegner, Berlin, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99163585
By Maggie - https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Maggi, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99764877
In 1947 Nestle’s landmark merger with Swiss company Alimentana added the very popular Maggie brand to its enviable trademark portfolio. Maggi was a major manufacturer of soup mixes, seasonings, bouillons and related products. Through this strategic acquisition, now Nestle is the proud owner of Maggi; a brand of Nestle group that generates a huge chunk of revenue and the company was renamed Nestlé Alimentana.
M&A enabled Nestlé to enter new markets such as frozen foods, ice-creams and expand its existing businesses in milk, coffee and canned foods. In 1960 Nestlé acquired German ice-cream producer Jopa and French ice-cream & desserts manufacturer Heudebert-Gervais and acquired Swiss brand Frisco in 1962 and in the same year acquired UK canned foods company Crosse & Blackwell and Findus frozen food brand from Swedish manufacturer Marabou one of the first companies to sell frozen foods in Europe, since 1945 and extended the brand to international markets. In 1968 as chilled dairy products became increasingly popular, Nestlé acquired French yogurt producer Chambourcy and later in the early 1970s the launched the Sveltesse range of yoghurts, aimed at health- and weight-conscious consumers.
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In 1969 Nestlé entered mineral waters by buying a stake in French waters brand Vittel. In 1973 to further expand its canned foods and frozen portfolio in Anglo-Saxon markets, Nestlé acquired the US frozen foods company Stouffer Corporation, and in 1976 acquired canned foods producer Libby, McNeill & Libby in 1976.
From 1974 onwards nestle started diversifying for the first time and ventured in to areas beyond food and drink. We shall discuss about the same in my upcoming post.
