Short answers, pulled from the story.
Nestlé S.A. is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. Since 2014 it has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue. It operates 335 factories in 185 countries and employs around 271,000 people.
Nestlé was formed in 1905 through the merger of the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company and the Société Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé. Anglo-Swiss was established in 1866 by brothers Charles Page and George Ham Page, while Henri Nestlé developed his milk-based baby food in 1867.
Nestlé owns over 2,000 brands. Twenty-nine of them each have annual sales above 1 billion Swiss francs, including Nespresso, Nescafé, Nestea, Kit Kat, Smarties, Nesquik, Stouffer, Vittel, and Maggi.
The 1977 Nestlé boycott in the United States and Europe arose from concerns about the company's aggressive marketing of breast milk substitutes in less economically developed countries. Critics accused Nestlé of discouraging breastfeeding and suggesting that its baby formula was healthier than breastfeeding.
Philipp Navratil became Nestlé's chief executive in 2025 after joining the company in 2001. He replaced Laurent Freixe, who was dismissed in September 2025 after a board investigation found an undisclosed romantic relationship with an employee.
Nestlé has faced criticism for reliance on West African cocoa suppliers that use child labour, slavery, and child trafficking. It has also been criticized for its water extraction practices and for persuading the World Water Council in 2000 to recast access to drinking water from a right to a need.
In 2025, Nestlé recorded consolidated sales of CHF 89.49 billion and net profit of CHF 9.03 billion. Research and development investment was CHF 1.61 billion, and the company had a market capitalisation of roughly 203 billion Swiss francs as of December 2025.