New Nestle boss plans bigger focus on four areas to boost growth

By John Revill and Hyunsu ⁠Yim

Feb 4 (Reuters) - Nestle's ⁠new ‍CEO is planning a sharper focus on four product categories - coffee, pet care, nutrition and health, and food and snacking - to try to ‍lift sales volumes at the world's largest food maker, a source close ​to the matter told Reuters.

The strategy from Philipp Navratil, appointed last year after the firing of his ​predecessor, reflects a stronger emphasis on the four areas rather than a major overhaul of the business, the source added.

Nestle declined to comment on the information, which was first reported by ​The Financial Times.

Savings would be used to support investment in coffee, pet food, nutrition, and food and snacks such as KitKat chocolate bars and Maggi seasonings.

The money ​will be channelled into product development and marketing to boost sales volumes. Navratil has previously highlighted volume growth – ‌selling more products – as a priority.

Nestle sees strong potential in coffee, citing developments such as cold-brewed products and the large numbers of ​people globally who do not yet drink coffee.

PET ⁠FOOD POTENTIAL

Pet food is viewed as another growth area, especially in Asia where sales are less widespread than in Europe or the ‌Americas, while pet therapeutics – foods that can help dogs with joint problems for example - could lift sales in established markets.

Within nutrition, healthy ageing, women's health and adapted foods for people using ‌weight-loss drugs are seen as having potential.

Navratil has been looking to sharpen Nestle's focus, potentially putting ‌parts of an empire spanning vitamins, pet food, coffee, confectionery, bottled water and more on the block.

Nestle on Wednesday widened an infant formula recall to include a batch of Guigoz after France ‍lowered the maximum threshold for the cereulide toxin.

The Swiss maker of Nespresso capsule coffee is currently organised by region - the Americas, ⁠Europe, Asia, Oceania and Africa - and six categories known internally as "strategic business units," the FT reported.

The four new product groupings could lay the groundwork for a formal reorganisation at the group, it added.

(Reporting by John Revill in Zurich and Hyunsu Yim in Barcelona. Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Mark Potter)

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