Switzerland-headquartered foods and beverage producer Nestle SA plans to invest $600 million in India, which is the company’s 10th largest market globally, its CEO Mark Schneider said.
Schneider said the investment will be made for capital expenditure, expanding and enhancing Nestle India’s portfolio of brands, acquisitions in emerging segments, and setting up new plants.
Currently, 99 percent of what Nestle sells in India is made in India; the company also has a global R&D center in the country.
Nestle has been present in India for over a century and Schneider shared that in the last 60 years, since Nestle began manufacturing in India, it has invested over $1 billion in its operations in India. It presently operates nine factories in the country employing 6,000. Products such as Maggi noodles are consumed nationwide and until recently most Indians in the north grew up with coffee being synonymous with Nescafe.
Nestle India’s chairman and managing director Suresh Narayanan said that the company’s accelerated plan had three pivots: continuing the strong momentum of growth that the company has had in the last 22 quarters; achieving this sustainably; leveraging new opportunities for growth, whether it is plant-based proteins, healthy ageing, healthy snacking, as well as incorporating some of the Indian grains into products for the company.
