Nestle’s next challenge: Sating human appetites as much as pets

Published 18 Feb,2021 via Bloomberg News Service (Global Editions) - Nestle SA had an easier time selling food for pets than for people in 2020. To meet his promises for faster overall growth, Chief Executive Officer Mark Schneider needs to focus more on human appetites this year.

Sales of pet food surged 10% in 2020, the fastest in more than a decade, as stuck-at-home consumers adopted more cats and dogs. While that helped overall revenue accelerate, Schneider has yet to reach the mid-single-digit growth rates the company enjoyed five years ago. The stock fell as much as 1% Thursday, bringing its decline over the past year to 7.2%.

The world’s largest food company has struggled to get sales of chocolate to accelerate, and Nestle’s bottled-water revenue has plunged, suffering from lockdowns and social-distancing measures. The company this week sold underperforming U.S. water brands such as Poland Spring for $4.3 billion. Schneider said Nestle will focus more on premium products, which now make up almost a third of its total sales.