Nestlé S.A. Is a Swiss transnational food and beverage company based in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It has been the largest food company in the world, measured by revenues and other metrics, for 2014, 2015 and 2016. It ranked at number 72 on the Fortune Global 500 list in 2014 and in the 2016 edition of the Forbes Global 2000 list Of the largest public enterprises.
Nestlé products include baby food, medical food, bottled water, breakfast cereals, coffee and tea, confectionery, dairy products, ice cream, frozen foods, pet food and snacks. Twenty-nine of Nestlé's brands have annual sales of more than $ 1 billion, including Nespresso, Nescafé, Kit Kat, Smarties, Nesquik, Stouffer, Vittel and Maggi. Nestlé has 447 factories, operates in 194 countries and employs about 339,000 people. He is one of the main shareholders of L'Oreal, the largest cosmetics company in the world.
Nestlé was founded in 1905 by the merger of Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, founded in 1866 by brothers George and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri Nestlé (born Heinrich Nestlé). The company grew significantly during World War I and again after World War II, expanding its offerings beyond its early condensed milk and infant formula products. The company has made several corporate acquisitions, including Crosse & Blackwell in 1950, Findus in 1963, Libby in 1971, Rowntree Mackintosh in 1988 and Gerber in 2007.
Nestlé has a primary stake in the SIX Swiss Exchange and is part of the Swiss market index. You have a secondary quote on Euronext. In 2011, Nestlé ranked No. 1 in Fortune Global 500 as the most profitable company in the world. With a market capitalization of US $ 239.6 billion, Nestlé ranked 11th in the FT Global 500 2014.
