Nestlé strengthens its research capabilities in Switzerland

Nestlé has today announced changes that further strengthen its research and development operations, the largest of any food company worldwide.

Nestlé will bring together its two scientific discovery units, the Nestlé Research Center and the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, to build one impactful organization, Nestlé Research. The combination of two world-renowned research facilities with highly complementary capabilities will take Nestlé’s important research work to a new level.

Nestlé continuously develops new products and services that offer tastier and healthier choices to consumers. This includes reducing sugar, salt and saturated fat content and increasing positive nutrients to improve the nutritional profile of its products. The company also addresses wider issues through science and technology, such as non-communicable diseases, micronutrient deficiencies and sustainability. Nestlé’s researchers collaborate with world-leading scientists at local and international academic institutions, enabling them to make impactful scientific discoveries and to advance the quality of Nestlé’s products.

Nestlé’s success is built on meeting fast-changing consumer demand around the world. In this dynamic environment innovation leadership is key to winning in the marketplace,

said Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider.

Strengthening our discovery research capabilities will give us an edge when it comes to developing the technologies for the next generation of must-have products.

Nestlé Research will be based in Lausanne, Switzerland and will employ approximately 800 people. It will consist of three major research institutes: Health Sciences, Material Sciences and Food Safety & Analytical Sciences. The new organization will combine fundamental science at the highest level, high-end analytical platforms leveraged by all research teams, and strong prototyping capabilities to accelerate the translation of science into innovation.

The scientific discoveries of Nestlé Research are translated by Nestlé’s category-specific Product and Technology Centers into innovations fueling business growth. An example of such an innovation is the recently launched chocolate bar Milkybar Wowsomes. It contains Nestlé’s new structured sugar which allows to reduce the sugar content in the chocolate by 30% while using only natural ingredients and no sweeteners. This breakthrough innovation was based on the work of research teams in Switzerland.

Pushing the boundaries in innovation and developing an understanding of the impact of good nutrition on people’s health has been at the core of Nestlé since the very beginning of the company,

said Paul Bulcke, Nestlé Chairman.

The strengthening of our research organization will enable us to accelerate insights, discoveries and breakthrough innovations. Switzerland’s collaborative research landscape creates the ideal environment for this.

Nestlé has the world's largest private food and nutrition research organization, involving about 5000 people. With nutrition at its core, Nestlé R&D is committed to make the Nestlé portfolio even tastier and healthier, to fulfil its purpose of enhancing quality of life of people and contributing to a healthier future. In 2017, Nestlé invested about CHF 1.7 billion in R&D. Switzerland remains of central importance for Nestlé’s global research work, with 58% of its global research budget invested in the country.

Media: Christoph Meier Tel.: +41 21 924 22 00

Investors: Luca Borlini Tel.: +41 21 924 35 09