NESTLE CORPORATION: ITS VISION AND MISSION

Nestle Corporation: Its Vision and Mission

Nestle Corporation: Its Vision and Mission

Overview

Nestle Corporation's vision and mission is to become a global company that sells food and beverage products, with minor interests in pharmaceuticals and pet food. Nestle's markets are worldwide and encompass all sorts of brand name items from Nestea, Nescafe, Nestle Quik, Nestle Crunch, Milo, Lion, and other household name brands. A strong company, Nestle has bounced back from bad crops, controversy over substandard infant formula sold to third world countries, and fluctuating consumer interest in their products (Considine, 2002). Over the years, Nestle has prided itself on its innovation, expansion and retrenchment capabilities, always looking out at the market share and finding products that suit consumer needs at any particular time.

Company Finances

Company sales (in Swiss francs) were at 54.5 billion in 1992. The figure rose respectably to 57.5 billion in 1993, but dropped to 57.0 billion in 1994 and to 56.5 billion in 1995. After retrenchment and regrouping, however, sales rose sharply to 69.5 billion in 1996. The following year saw a 16 percent increase, with sales reaching 69.9 billion Swiss francs in 1997 (Considine, 2002).

Analysts' Opinions

New trade barriers, and the fact the Switzerland has not become a part of the European Union, has created a threat to Nestle's security in the region. According to Dario Jkuster, director of Choccosuisse, the association of Swiss chocolate makers of which Nestle is a major and long-time member, "The EU barriers meant that step by step, Swiss Chocolate production is dislocated to outside Switzerland." Although Nestle has factories in every EU country and on six other continents, the reputation of Swiss chocolate has been one of its mainstays for over 100 years (Considine, 2002). The trend to move operations from its headquarters' country may affect the reputation of Nestle and preclude it from being a maker of Swiss chocolate, reputedly the finest in the world. In February 1992, however, the Standard & Poor's index changed Nestle's outlook from negative to positive, proving once again that the food giant knows how to move with the times and reinvent itself to reflect new trends and situations.

Strategy

Nestle's marketing strategies ensure that their products are focused on the country or society for which they are aimed. In each country where Nestle has a factory, analysis of the eating habits and buying trends determine what products will be heavily marketed (S&P Revises Nestle, 2006). For instance, in the United States, with its fast food consumption, two of the major organizations under the Nestle banner are Stouffers, a frozen fast dinner company, and Carnation, noted for its milk and "Instant Breakfast" products. Nestle has strong brands and leading global market positions in coffee and bottled water, milk products, prepared dishes, chocolate and confectionery, and ophthalmics (S&P Revises Nestle, 2006). The size and resilience of Nestle's cash flow are key sources of its success. With increasing contributions from faster-growing product categories and emerging markets, Nestle has achieved improved growth in underlying volumes, market shares, ...