About Nestle
Nestlé S.A. is a Swiss multinational food and drink conglomerate headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland—the largest publicly held food company in the world since 2014. The company's origins trace to 1866 when the Page brothers established Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company in Cham, Switzerland, which merged with Henri Nestlé's infant food company in 1905. Nestlé played a pivotal role in developing milk chocolate when it supplied condensed milk to Daniel Peter, who created the first commercial milk chocolate in the 1880s. In the UK, Nestlé acquired Rowntree's of York in 1988, gaining iconic British brands including KitKat (created 1935), Aero, Smarties, Quality Street, and Yorkie. The famous "Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat" slogan was created by JWT London in 1957. KitKat celebrates 90 years in 2025, remaining Nestlé's leading confectionery brand globally. Nestlé developed Nescafé instant coffee in the 1930s—now one of 29 Nestlé brands with annual sales exceeding 1 billion CHF. UK manufacturing remains significant: York is Nestlé's largest UK confectionery factory (producing KitKat and Aero), Halifax makes Quality Street, and Tutbury in Staffordshire produces Nescafé. Other UK brands include Milkybar, Smarties, Munchies, Yorkie, Cheerios (cereals), Shredded Wheat, Shreddies, and pet food under Purina. Recent news includes new Aero Strawberry (2024), Milkybar Fairy Lights for Christmas, and the discontinuation of Caramac and Animal Bars in 2023 after 64 years. Nestlé owns many separate brands in the database (Felix, Purina, Nescafé, Cheerios, etc.)—this entry covers products sold under the Nestlé master brand. Compare Nestlé confectionery and cereals at Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons with Grocefully.
