SID: 1135893

Table of Contents
Company Introduction:............................................................................................... 3
Vision and Values:...................................................................................................... 3
Company Objectives:.................................................................................................. 3
Strategic Analysis:...................................................................................................... 4
PESTEL Analysis.......................................................................................................... 4
SWOT Analysis:....................................................................................................... 6
Porters 5 forces:......................................................................................................... 7
Porters diamond and competitive advantage:...........................................................9
Ansoff Matrix:........................................................................................................... 10
Boston Matrix:.......................................................................................................... 11
Value Chain Analysis................................................................................................. 13
Recommendation:.................................................................................................... 14
Evaluation & Conclusion:.......................................................................................... 14
List of References:.................................................................................................... 15

Company Introduction:
Nestle is one of the worlds largest and most known companies. It is a Swiss company
with its headquarters located in Vevey, Switzerland. The company was inaugurated in
1866 (Nestle 2012) and since its inception has grown through leaps and bounds to
1

become the worlds largest food and nutrition company (Cnn money 2011). The
company is also a major stakeholder in the cosmetic company, LOreal.
For a company to start from a small domestic town and then expand internationally, the
strategic vision of the company plays a central and key role. The subsequent chapters
shall discuss the companys internal goals and strategy and how that strategy paves
way for Nestle to build its competitive advantage in all the markets it operates in.

Vision and Values:

The vision of Nestle reflects ideas of fairness, honesty and long-term thinking. These
ideas are reflected in the companys corporate business principles that have shaped the
company culture and strategy for the past nearly 140 years. The core values that the
company has are its people, the quality of its people and brand, the companys brand
portfolio, their consumers, their customers and the companys sustainable performance.
(Nestle, 2012)

Company Objectives:
The main objective of Nestle can be appropriately summed up by the phrase Creating
Shared Value (Nestle, 2012) This principle at Nestle can be described as having a
conviction to build long term and beneficial relationships with their stakeholders, comply
with all legal requirements and ensure all activities that the business undertakes are
sustainable and result in value creation for both the company and the society at large.

A strategy that the company has developed to mark their achievements is that they
would like to become the benchmark of (Nestle, 2012)
1. Nutrition, Health and Wellness
2. Sustainable Financial Performance

3. Trust by all stakeholders.

In order to achieve these benchmarks Nestle underwent heavy expenditure in Research
and Development and relies greatly on new research and innovation, both in terms of
food production and processes.

Strategic Analysis:
The Pestel analysis is a tool made for analyzing the Political scenario, the
Environmental scenario, Socio political scenario, technological scenario and legal
scenario of a the macro environment of a business. This is a management method that
examines the effect that events or influences from outside may have on the
performance of a company or organization (CambridgeDictionary 2012).
Pestel analysis is usually conducted keeping in mind the situation of a particular region.
For the sake of this marketing plan, the pestel analysis of Nestle will be conducted
keeping in mind the market of Great Britain.

PESTEL Analysis
Political:

England is a member of the European Union as well as being a senior

member of the United Nations. Because the country is part of two big political blocks, it
allows it the freedom to trade efficiently both domestically and internationally. Despite
having both a monarchy and a parliamentary form of government, the governmental
system is well balanced and the common law is practiced. Nestle being a Swedish
country; also belonging to the European Union has a great relationship with the
government of Great Britain (EuropeanUnion 2012).
Economic:

UK is the third largest economy in Europe after Germany and France

however Economists within the UK market predict a mild slip back into recession for the
country in the year 2012 (bbc.co.uk 2012). Due to the economy presently being in a low
growth stage it is very essential for Nestle to understand the market and come up with
products and processes where it could continue to offer the same high standard of
3

products that it offers and yet try and minimalise costs. United Kingdom was also hit by
the recession of the year 2007 and there was a fair amount of job loss. Keeping this in
mind If Nestle were to set up more production plans and hired local population, it would
contribute to value creation.
Social: Around 66.2% of the Population of UK lies between the age brackets of 15-64
years. This means that there is a large labor force available however a majority of
population is also aging. For Nestle this could be an opportunity if it decides to introduce
a line of products that are compatible with its competitors products such as high fiber
cereal offered by Kelloggs or protein bars. With a large young population, nestle can
introduce new flavors of its chocolate line with added health benefits as well (Hill, T. &
R. Westbrook, 1997).
Technological: The UK is a technologically advanced country with heavy focus on
research and development and computed aided simulations and designs This is a
positive point for Nestle as Research and Development is a key competitive advantage
for the company. Without heavy expense incurred in this department, the company
would not have been able to reach the global number one position that it has acquired
today. With a technologically friendly environment in UK, Nestle has the options of
introducing new technology and conducting better research without the fear or incurring
too high costs or the consumers finding it difficult to adapt (bbc.co.uk 2012).
Environmental: The government of the United Kingdom pays stress on companies
doing their operations on environmental friendly principles. Because Nestle is a
company that is within the food and nutrition industry therefore the environmental
compliance is extremely essential for it to cater to. These include the correct and green
processes through which the company manufactures (Environment protection act,
1990), as well as ensuring that all the edible products meet the health standards as set
by the government of the United Kingdom.
Legal: With regards to the legal situation of United Kingdom the company needs to pay
attention to various kinds of laws that are prevalent. These include health and safety
laws, consumer laws, and employee laws as well discrimination laws. For operations
4

within the united Kingdom it is essential for companies to not only align their processes
with the legal standing of the government but also their management style and
organizational culture to ensure that all employees are treated equally and fairly, there
are no reported cases of harassment of any kind and that the products have a health
and safety assurance otherwise the company is liable to be sued.

SWOT Analysis:
The swot Analysis is part of a strategic planning process for small and medium sized
organizations mostly (Houben, 1999). The analysis measures the company on two
fronts; internal and external. In the internal area the strengths of the business and the
weaknesses it posses in its own operations are analyzed while in the external analysis,
the opportunities and threats faced by the business in its macro environment are
analyzed.
Strengths: One of the biggest strengths of Nestle is the brand image that it has. Its
brands such as Kitkat, Nescafe, Nesquick are almost synonymous with the brand name.
The company also has the heavy financial muscle to invest in its research and
development which can further enhance its product line as well as invest in marketing. It
also has a very strong global presence both in terms of production capacities as well as
market share.
Weaknesses: One weakness of the company is that it has had to recall many of its
products due to bad quality and that has greatly hampered its brand image. For a
company as big as Nestle the customers do not expect such a dangerous mistake to be
made especially since it operates in the food industry. The company also is the target of
being boycotted because of media pressures and environmentalists for engaging in
non-green practices and usage of child labor (ILRF, 2005).
Opportunities: The fact that Nestle has gone from being merely a food brand to being
nutrition and well being brand is a good opportunity for the company as it opens many
new areas for product line extension. Entering into emerging markets and establishing
manufacturing plants also helps the company in reducing its costs.
5

Threats: The food industry is probably one of the most saturated industries in the
world. Keeping this in mind Nestle faces the very strong threat of competition. This
competition can emerge both from international brands as well as local brands of the
market in which Nestle enters and tries to operate. The rising prices of raw materials,
fuel as well as the political instability in many third world countries where nestle has set
up their production plants also threatens to cause unreliability in the supply line (Lin,
2007).

Porters 5 forces:
Michael Porter (1979) gave a framework by virtue of which the competitive advantage of
companies can be assessed in the market in which they operate in. The framework
includes an analysis of five concurrent forces that affect a business' ability to compete
(Michael Porter 1979).
Keeping in mind the global market in which Nestle operates in, the Porters five forces
analysis will be carried out keeping a general view of the entire world as the potential
market for Nestle.
Threat of New Entrants: Nestle despite being in a food and nutrition industry faces the
serious threat of new entrants in the market. Weather this threat is domestic or from
international firms, it exists because it is an industry where the barriers to entry are very
low. If we discuss Nestle in India for example there are low barriers to entry and many
small domestic players can enter the market and challenge the market of nestle through
their pricing or product offering which is tailored to the local culture and tastes.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers: The bargaining power of suppliers of Nestle is very
low especially in regions where the countries are economically backwards such as
Pakistan or Bangladesh. That is because Nestle being such a giant in the market has
the ability to bring lots of new business to the suppliers and therefore the suppliers have
to produce the raw materials according to the outlines set by the company or they can
be replaced.

Bargaining Power of consumers: The bargaining power of the customers of Nestle is

high. That is because it is a brand which greatly relies on consumer appreciation for the
product. If a product is launched in any part of the world where the consumers do not
like the taste, they will refuse to buy it. Similarly in third world countries the consumer
base is very price sensitive. This raises their bargaining power if Nestle wants to
penetrate, then it will have to reduce its prices to their affordability level.
Threat of Substitutes: Threat of substitutes for Nestle is also very high. In all areas of
its operations there are multiple other firms that are offering either similar products or
substitute products.

For this purpose Nestle has to ensure that it offers a product

experience that cannot be imitated and is demanded by its consumers.

Industry Rivalry: Industry rivalry for Nestle is very high in no matter what part of the
world it operates in. In United Kingdom it faces threat of competition from brands like
Kellogs, in India it faces competition from local brands and brands such as Knorr which
are starting to venture into the food industry.

Porters diamond and competitive advantage:

Michael Porter presented his theory about the competitive advantage of Nations through
the use of this self designed diamond model. According to his theory, nations can create
a sustainable competitive advantage for themselves if they use the following four factors
efficiently. It is called a diamond model because the effect of one variable causes a
change in the other variable. According to Porter, a country can create competitive
7

advantage for itself rather than merely relying on natural endowments. Keeping Nestle
in mind, Switzerland has created a global recognition for itself based on this huge
multinational giants image (Economics-papers 2012).

Firm
Strategty
.
Structur
e &
Rivalry
Factor
Conditio
ns

Demand
Conditio
ns

Related
Industrie
s.

Factor conditions talk about the country creating its own factors of production. Japan for
instance does not have any local metal or steel however it has become synonymous
with the manufacturing of metal cars. Similarly, factor conditions include building up on a
countrys skilled resources and putting them to best use such as Nestle has done by
acquiring raw materials from other parts of the world and treating them through
innovative processes to suit its own needs (Nestle, 2012).
Demand conditions mean that when the demand of a certain product is high locally,
the company can focus on it and build that as its competitive advantage. The demand
for healthy food was very high In Switzerland and taking that demand Nestle build its
company and has now succeeded in creating such a global giant. Because Nestles
related and supporting industries are also thriving and are competition with each other,
this gives Nestle the opportunity to build on its cost advantage and focus on its
innovation so that it can continue its differentiation strategy in the market. The local
conditions affect the firm strategy and culture. Within Switzerland there was high focus
8

on doing things after thorough research and therefore the same Ideas were inherent
since the inception of Nestle. (NestleCompanyStrategy, 2012).

Ansoff Matrix:

Existi

Market Penetration

Product Development

Market Development

Diversification

ng
Marke
ts

New
Marke
ts
Existing Products

New Products

Nestle operates in a multitude of different markets. Keeping each market in mind it

develops different strategies. The Ansoff matrix shows four different kinds of strategies
that companies can follow in order to achieve their goals. The first is the market
penetration. In this strategy companies lower their prices so that they can enter into the
market more quickly. In the case of Pakistan it was seen that when Nestle entered
Pakistan, they introduced their existing product Milo at very affordable rates, even in
smaller sub sizes so that the market can readily accept the product. In Market
development strategy, the company takes an existing product into a new market. This
can be seen as when Nestle took Kitkat to foreign markets or when it launched Nescafe
coffee in China. Product development is when a company remains in the same market
it is presently operating but starts to expand its product line. Nestle was seen using
9

product development when it remained in the European market but started venturing
into health and nutritional products and expanding its product line. Nestle also has a
diversified portfolio as it invested in the cosmetic company LOreal and is also the
stakeholder in a number of pharmaceutical companies worldwide (Bonn, I. 2001).

Boston Matrix:

(Mayareynoldswriter 2008).

Nestle is a house of brands. It consists of over a hundred different products and each
product is at a different stage in the market depending upon the region in which it is
being sold. Generally the product lines of nestle can be divided into big sub categories
such as baby foods, which includes Cerelac and Nestum. Cereals and Bottled water,
chocolate items, Dairy products, drinks, ice cream etc. Each product from each of these
different categories is places on a different point in the BCG matrix. For the sake of
simplicity of the project we will only discuss a few of the known and flagship products of
Nestle (Boston Consulting Group, 2011).
The cash cows of Nestle are very easily most of its chocolate brands and baby food
items. Cerelac is a universal cash cow as well as Kit Kat that has a very strong brand
presence worldwide (Reuters, 2012). Nido is fast growing nutritional milk that is gaining
10

popularly in the Asian region and in the year 2010 (New York Times, 2012), a new Kit
Kat manufacturing plant was set up in United Kingdom that was to produce over 1 billion
bars of the chocolate each year.
The Stars are those products which have potential in the market and Nestls lines of
frozen product are quick to capture a declining cooking market within the United States.
Nestle with its brand Stouffer, is turning its attention to frozen pizza in an effort to
capture more of the market share (Bryson, 2011).
Dogs are those product lines which do not bring in too much of revenue and are difficult
to turn around. These products are those that should be discarded or sold off so that
they do not squeeze the company profits. For Nestle, many attribute its investments in
the pharmaceutical business to be a dog and that the company should pull out and
focus more on its nutritional products.
Question marks are those products whose future is somewhat uncertain. They can be
turned out into positive cash cows or could reduce to the dog stature for the company.
With regards to the Indian market, the breakfast cereals of nestle are question marks.
Keeping in mind the culture of India, the breakfast is a wholesome meal and the culture
of cereals is very low (New York Times, 2012). The particular products in the Indian
markets are still struggling to figure out their future.

Value Chain Analysis:

A value chain analysis is a specific set of activities that are linked together and through
their use the firm can produce a competitive advantage for itself. This value chain
analysis was also developed by Michael Porter and can be summed up by the following
representation (Porter, 1985):

11

Inbound
Logistics

Operatio
ns

Outboun
d
Logistics

Marketin
g&
Sales

Service

If we conduct the value chain analysis for Nestle we can see that it has a very good
supply chain and integration of all operational business units otherwise it would be very
difficult for the company to achieve global dominance. The inbound logistics include
warehousing and inventory control. In Nestle it is a computerized and automated
system of inventory control that is different for each country. This is why the supply of
Nestle products is hardly ever scarce in the market. The operations of nestle are very
successful as they transform a lot of raw material into very nutritional products and
create value for their customers. Outbound logistics is the process by which finished
goods are transferred to the sellers. For this purpose Nestle has started to set up
distribution channels in each country where its production plant is set up so ensure
timely delivery. Marketing and Sales of nestle help in creating the brand that Nestle has
evolved into today. The service area is that which responds to concerns and after sale
service and Nestle tries its best to provide good customer service to any customers that
may be dissatisfied by the product (Bonn, I. 2001).

Recommendation:
Nestle has a very established setup of both its operations and marketing. What the
company should however invest in is building its public image as a corporately
responsible company as well. As it has already been pointed out above Nestle is one of
the worlds most boycotted companies because of a certain perception that it commits
12

corporate crimes when coming to environmental practices. The company needs to

make sure that that particular image is altered. Also, the products of Nestle which are
not doing so well in certain markets should be pulled out rather than constantly
spending more on them to turn their value around. Some products are difficult to sail
because of the culture of the market that Nestle operates in and therefore should be
avoided to ensure sunk costs do not occur.

Evaluation & Conclusion:

In conclusion it is safe to say that Nestle has a lot of positive attributes backing its larger
than life product portfolio and therefore the company has managed to sustain its
position in the list of the fortune five hundred companies. The company through the use
of efficient management procedures, innovation, capital infusion and research and
development continues to expand its portfolio and also serves as an example of not just
a an exceptional food and nutrition providing company but also a real multinational
corporation. There are many lawsuits against the company and it is also generally
considered to be one of the worlds most boycotted companies and despite all off that
the revenues of the company have hardly slumped since its inception. That is a
testament to their value chain creation and streamlined processes that ensure that
nestle becomes a part of the livelihood of the people of the 130 countries it serves.

List of References:
1. bbc.co.uk (2012) the world of technology. [online] Available
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology/ [Accessed: 5th august 2012].

at:

2. Belch, G & Belch, M. 2003. Advertising and Promotion; an Integrated Marketing

Perspective, 6th edition, Mc-H Companies.
13

3. Bonn, I. (2001), Developing Strategic Thinking as a Core Competency,

Management Decision, 39(1), 63 - 76.

4. Boston Consulting Group. (2011), About BCG. [Online]. Available at <

http://www.bcg.com/about_bcg/history/history_1968.aspx>.
[Accessed
6th
August, 2012].
5. Bryson York. 2011. Nestle: Aisles to go with products. Available:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-03-10/business/ct-biz-0311-frozen-foodsidebar-20110310_1_pizza-nestle-usa-chairman-cooking. [Accessed 6th Aug
2012].

6. CnnMoney.2011. Global500. Available:http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/

global500/2011/snapshots/6126.html. [Accessed 6th August 2012].
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http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionar0y/business-english/pestle-analysis?
q=pestle+analysis [Accessed: 6th august 2012].
8. Economics-papers (2012) The Study and Review on Michael Porters the
Competitive Adv. [Online] Available at: http://www.economics-papers.com/thestudy-and-review-on-michael-e-porters-the-competitive-advantage-ofnations.html [Accessed: 7th august 2012].
9. Europa.eu (2012) Policies and activities of the European Union. [online]
Available at: http://europa.eu/policies-activities/index_en.htm [Accessed: 6th
august 2012].

10. Hill, T. & R. Westbrook (1997). "SWOT Analysis: Its Time for a Product Recall".
Long Range Planning 30 (1).
11. Houben, G, 1999. A knowledge-based SWOT-analysis system as an instrument
for strategic planning in small and medium sized enterprises. Journal of Applied
Economics,
[Online].
26,
125-135.
Available
at:http://www.cuaed.unam.mx/puel_cursos/cursos/d_gcfe_m_dos/modulo/modul
o_2/m2-10.pdf [Accessed 04 August 2012].
14

12. International Labor Rights Forum. 2005. The 14 Worst Corporate Evildoers.
[ONLINE]
Available
at:http://www.laborrights.org/creating-a-sweatfreeworld/ethical-consumerism/news/11434. [Accessed 04 August 12].
13. John Katsaros & Peter Christy 2005. Getting It Right the First Time: How
Innovative Companies Anticipate Demand. Westport, CT: Praeger

14. Legislation.gov.uk. 2011. Environmental Protection Act 1990. [ONLINE] Available

at:< http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/43/contents.> [Accessed 04
August 12].
15. Lin, J.N, 2007. SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAINS IN THE FOOD AND
BEVERAGE INDUSTRY. Masters. Michigan: University of Michigan.
16. Mayareynoldswriter (2008) Applying the Boston Matrix to Publishing. [online]
Available at: http://mayareynoldswriter.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/applying-bostonmatrix-to-publishing.html [Accessed: 6th august 2012].

17. Michael, Kathleen, Goold, Sommers Luchs, 1996. Managing the Multibusiness
Company: Strategic Issues for Diversified Group. 1st ed. London: Routledge.
18. Michael, Porter, 2008. The Five Competitive
Strategy. Harvard Business Review, 15 January 2011.

Forces

That

Shape

19. Nestle.com.2012. History. [ONLINE]Available at:

http://www.nestle.com/AboutUs/History/Pages/History.aspx. [Accessed 03
August 12].
20. Porter, M.E. 1985. Competitive Advantage, Free Press, New York, 1985.

21. Reuters. 2012. China's moms key to Nestle baby milk deal. [ONLINE] Available
at:http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/24/us-nestle-babymilkidUSBRE83N0PD20120424. [Accessed 04 August 12].
22. The New York Times. 2010. Nestl Plans a Research Center to Focus on Indian
Foods.[ONLINE]Available
15

at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/business/global/23nestle.html.
[Accessed 04 August 12].

23. The telegraph. 2012. Nestl serves up 'cracking' results. Available:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8331655/N
estle-serves-up-cracking-results.html. [Accessed 6th Aug 2012].

Nestle International Strategy

In 1990s Nestl faced significant challenges in its market growth. Despite of the
stagnant population in western countries the balance of power was increasing
from large scale manufacturers like Nestl, toward supermarkets and discounted
chain stores. In result, Nestl decided to lessen its focus on developed markets
like North America and its home based market in Switzerland to emerging
market like India and China. all overThe driving force behind the decision of
expanding its market share in emerging market is simple, as the population
grows and government decisions favoring market economies brings attractive
business opportunities for public living at intermediate income.

Although many of the counties are still living under poverty line, even living on
$1 per day shows optimistic signs for the future markets. For example: as the
current economic forecasts continues, there will be 9 billion people living on this
planet as compare to todays population of $7 billion today, and coincidently the
increase in population is all in developing countries.

Nestl uses the strategy which correlates the ratio of increase in income to use
of branded food products, which means as a person earns more and has less
time for making food in his/her home, they will automatically substitute for
branded products.

16

In general the companys strategy has been to enter emerging markets early
before its competitors and build a substantial customer base by selling products
which suit the local population such as infant formula, milk, and noodles. Nestl
narrows down its market share to many small niche markets, as opposed to
general or one for all strategies. Nestl keeps the goal of commanding the niche
markets by gaining at least 85% of market share in every food product it
launches. For example, by pursuing such a strategy, mouth & hairNestl has
taken as much as 85 percent of the market for instant coffee in Mexico, 66
percent of the market for powdered milk in the Philippines, and 70 percent of the
market for soups in Chile. As the income level rises in each niche market, Nestl
introduces an upscale version of the same brand to increase its profit level.
Although Nestl has become a global brand, it uses local identity to gain
exposure in local markets. The company owns 8500 brands but only 750 of
them are known internationally.

Customization is the key to Nestls global brand identity rather than

universalism, which means Nestl, uses global brand identity but, from the
internal point of view, it uses local ingredients and other technologies that
resonate with the local environment and brand name that is known globally. The
customization of Nestls products causes many hindrances in carrying out its
distribution of products from local farmers to factories. For example, in Nigeria
the infrastructure placed is crumbling, trucks are old and political conditions are
not suitable to carry out the processes successfully, so Nestl adopted a new
strategy to deliver its products to local warehouses which are Lococonvenient to
local farmers for milk production. Although this might seem as an expensive
solution, the local farmers have tripled their milk production and the supply of
milk, which Nestl has calculated as beneficent for the long term growth.

The execution of the strategy matches the planning of the strategy which is to
plan globally and implement locally. Nestl gives autonomy to its local branches
based in different countries to make pricing decisions, and distribution decisions.
Nestl has expanded its growth by diversifying its product base to tomato
ketchup and wheat base products such as noodle and tofu. Nestl has
expanded into 5 countries and expects to supply all food products throughout
the regions namely, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Dubai and Saudi Arabia.

17

Nestl is also buying local companies in China and adapting its own portfolio for
the Chinese market. Since many Chinese find coffee too bitter for their liking,
Nestl is working on a new formula to offer Smoovlatte, a coffee drink that
tastes like melted ice cream. The company wants to be seen as a company that
makes healthy food. As Janet Vote, Nestls global head of public affairs, said
it is a core business strategy (The Economist).

competetive

Nestl has used its brand name as strength to generate sales and to expand its
market share, which includes it customization of products to fit its target markets
profile. Although Nestl has not always started from scratch, the company has
used acquisition as a penetration strategy to expand and penetrate new
international markets, which eliminates any local barriers to its competition. A
few weaknesses which are related to the companys quality measure resulting in
product recalls. The company has decentralized its strategy units into 7 subunits
in charge for different product lines, for instance, one for coffee and
beverages; another one focuses on ice cream and milk products. Nestl brings
its management level employees all around the world for 2-3 week training in its
headquarters in Switzerland to familiarize them with their global culture, strategy
and given them access to the companys top management.

SWOT analysis of Nestle

Ovidijus Jurevicius | 15.02.2013

This is Nestl S.A. SWOT analysis in 2013. For more information on how to do a SWOT
analysis please refer to our article.

Company Background
Name

Nestl S.A.

18

Logo

Industries served

Food processing

Geographic areas served

Worldwide

Headquarters

Switzerland

Current CEO

Paul Bulcke

Revenue

CHF 92.2 billion (2012)

Profit

CHF 10.6 billion (2012)

Employees

328,000 (2012)

19

Unilever NV, Hershey Foods, Kraft Foods, Cadbury Schweppes, GROUPE

DANONE and many other automotive companies.

Main Competitors

Nestl is the world's leading nutrition, health and wellness company based in Switzerland. It is
the largest food company in the world measured by revenues. Nestl's sells baby food, breakfast
cereals, coffee, confectionery, dairy products, frozen food, pet foods, yoghurt and snacks. It owns
several major consumer brands such as Stouffers, Nescafe, Kit-Kat, Carnation, Nestl Water, and
many others.
You can find more information about the business in its official website or Wikipedias article.

SWOT
Nestle SWOT analysis 2013
Strengths
Unmatched product and brand portfolio

Weaknesses
Inability to provide consistent quality in food
products

R&D capabilities
Weak implementation of CSR
Distribution channels and geographic presence
Competency in mergers and acquisitions
Brand reputation valued at $7 billion

Opportunities
Increasing demand for healthier food products
Acquiring startups specializing in producing wellbeing products

Threats
Food contamination
Trend towards healthy eating
Growth of private labels

Establishing new joint ventures

Rising raw food prices
20

Strengths
1.

Unmatched product and brand portfolio. The business offers one of the widest
portfolio of food and brewery products in its sector. It also operates 29 brands that earn more
than $1 billion in annual revenues. With more than 8,000 products it is hard for any other
corporate to compete against Nestl.

2.

R&D capabilities. Nestl invested more than $2 billion in R&D in 2011. Its introducing
new and redesigned products every year, strengthening firms competitive advantage.

3.

Distribution channels and geographic presence. Nestl runs in more than 100 countries
and has extensive distribution channel all over the world, which supports its operations globally.

4.

Competency in mergers and acquisitions. Over the years Nestl has been forming
successful partnerships and acquiring other companies in order to grow and maintain its
leadership in the market.

5.

Brand reputation valued at $7 billion. Nestl is known almost everywhere and has a
reputable brand for its products that are used by millions every day.

Weaknesses
1.

Inability to provide consistent quality in food products. Nestl has been recalling
many products from trade due to food contamination or poor quality supplies. This does not only
hurt firms sales but its image as well as the business is unable to control quality of the products.

2.

Weak implementation of CSR. The company has announced and is involved in many
programs that aim to make company more eco-friendly and improving the working conditions of
its suppliers. Still, Nestl receives a lot criticism over the effectiveness of its programs.

Opportunities
1.

Increasing demand for healthier food products. The trend of buying and consuming
only healthy food products is a major shift in consumer tastes and opens up an immense market
for companies. Currently, Nestl tries to introduce more healthy food products in response to the
trend.

2.

Acquiring startups specializing in producing well-being products. Many new startups

are forming and introducing new products for well-being or revolutionizing the ways those
products are made. Startups are cheap and can easily be acquired. Nestl is focusing on
providing more well-being products and this is a great opportunity to expand its portfolio.

3.

Establishing new joint ventures. Nestle is already involved in many successful

partnerships with major world companies like The Coca-Cola Company and Colgate-Palmolive.

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Threats
1.

Food contamination. Although it is Nestles responsibility to run thorough quality

checks of its products, the company had been reportedly providing contaminated food or other
products to the market. Such actions hurt companys reputation and result in losses.

2.

Trend towards healthy eating. Nestl is a major supplier of chocolate and chocolate
drinks that have high level of calories and due to changing customer habits, will experience
decline in demand.

3.

Growth of private labels. The growing number of supermarkets and other retailers are
introducing their own label products that cost less and can easily compete with Nestls product
portfolio.

4.

Rising raw food prices. With an overall growth of world economy and population, the
demand for raw food will rise. The result of that will be higher material costs and squeezed
margin for Nestl.

Sources
1.

Nestle (2011). 2011 Annual report English. Available at: http://www.nestle.com/assetlibrary/Documents/Library/Documents/Annual_Reports/2011-Annual-Report-EN.pdf

2.

Nestle (2013). About us. Available at: http://www.nestle.com/aboutus

3.

Wikipedia (2013). Nestl. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestl%C3%A9

4.

Interbrand (2013). Best Global Brands 2012. Available at:

http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/2012/Best-Global-Brands-2012.aspx

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