Following robust 2018 results, Nestle announces investment in the US

Missouri-based Purina factory will get a lift with international food giant Nestlé announcing a $115 million investment in the Bloomfield establishment.

The investment that Nestlé announced on Thursday, aims to bump up the production of Tidy Cats brand that makes cat litter. The brand has grown about 18% in the last four years, according to the Swiss food maker.

Nestlé’s latest push to strengthen its food and beverage business could be the reason for this move.

Last week, Nestlé had announced the global launch of a new range of coffee products under the Starbucks (SBUX) brand.
Including Starbucks capsules that uses Nespresso and Nescafé Dolce Gusto coffee platform, the new products — twenty-four in number — also has whole bean and roast and ground varieties.

This also marked the first official product launch since August 2018, when the two international giants agreed to join forces to create “a global coffee alliance.”

Nespresso President Patrice Bula weighed in, “Our two teams have done an outstanding job in just six months developing a range of new and exciting premium coffees, crafted with care and passion, combining Nestlé’s coffee and system know-how with the Starbucks coffee, roasting and blending expertise.”

“With Nescafé, Nespresso and Starbucks, Nestlé now has the best coffee portfolio to delight consumers around the world,” he added.

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Nestlé has started rolling out these Starbucks products in international markets such as Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, apart from the US.

Earlier this month, Nestlé announced its FY 2018 results. For the year, total reported sales grew 2.1% to about $91.25 billion (~ 91.4 billion Swiss Franc), generating a 45.5% jump in earnings per share. According to the Swiss giant, stronger momentum in the US and China helped the organic growth of the company — both being the two largest Nestlé markets.

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