How Nestlé Expanded Beyond the Kitchen

How Nestlé Expanded Beyond the Kitchen
It was followed by the acquisition of:
• Crosse & Blackwell (a British maker of preserves and canned foods) in 1960
• Findus frozen foods in 1963
• Libby’s fruit juices in 1971
• Stouffer’s frozen foods in 1973
In the 1970s, Nestlé executives predicted a sluggish future for the food industry and diversified into cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
When Helmut Maucher took over as chief executive in 1981, he said
that he saw his task as “getting this somewhat the sleepy company to move ahead.” The first German to lead the Swiss company since Mr. Nestlé, Mr. Maucher set off a wave of food industry megamergers in the 1980s.
As the world’s largest food company, Nestlé has been tied to a number of food scandals.
Nestlé won a contract to feed the German Army, and the food giant’s American factories sold Nescafé to the United States military.
Around the time that Mr. Nestlé began his company, a competing dairy concern began operation.
By ERIC OWLESJUNE 27, 2017
The story of Nestlé, the maker of Butterfinger candy bars
and Purina pet food, starts with the coming together of bitter rivals in the late 1800s in Switzerland.