Nestle SA’s new CEO, Laurent Freixe, is accelerating plans to revive growth at the world’s largest food company by accelerating a strategic review of struggling vitamin brands after a drop in sales volumes. The Swiss group is considering the future of some underperforming brands in its vitamins, minerals, and supplements business, including Nature’s Bounty, Osteo Bi-Flex, Puritan’s Pride, and US private label. This may result in divestment of these brands, while the focus on premium brands such as Garden of Life increases.
Nestle is joining other European consumer products companies in paring back their portfolios to seek faster growth. Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc agreed to an up to $4.8 billion deal to sell most of its homecare business to private equity firm Advent International, while Unilever Plc is moving to spin off its £15 billion ($20.4 billion) ice-cream operation.
Freixe is reviewing some of former CEO Schneider’s bets on vitamins after he expanded the company into the field in 2017. The company is seeking to reignite growth by boosting advertising spending and betting on fewer but bigger product initiatives. That’s funded with a 2.5 billion-Swiss franc ($3.15 billion) cost-cutting plan by 2027, with the company saying it’s on track to reach 700 million francs this year.
A key headwind for Nestle and its rivals is balancing price hikes aimed at offsetting soaring coffee and cocoa costs without driving away cost-conscious shoppers. The group is also reviewing how it can adjust its sourcing and manufacturing to deal with the US tariff policy.
