Nestle Ghana Company Profile and History
In the 1860s Henri Nestlé, a pharmacist, developed a food for babies who were unable to breastfeed. His first success was a premature infant who could not tolerate his mother's milk or any of the usual substitutes. People quickly recognized the value of the new product, after Nestlé's new formula saved the child's life, and soon, Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé was being sold in much of Europe. In 1905 Nestlé merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company. By the early 1900s, the company was operating factories in the United States, Britain, Germany and Spain. World War I created new demand for dairy products in the form of government contracts. By the end of the war, Nestlé's production had more than doubled.The 1920s saw Nestlé's first expansion into new products, with chocolate the Company's second most important activity. The end of World War II was the beginning of a dynamic phase for Nestlé. Growth accelerated and companies were acquired. In 1947 came the merger with Maggi seasonings and soups. Crosse & Blackwell followed in 1960, as did Findus (1963), Libby's (1971) and Stouffer's (1973). Diversification came with a shareholding in L'Oréal in 1974.Nestlé divested a number of businesses1980/1984. In 1984, Nestlé's improved bottom line allowed the Company to launch a new round of acquisitions, the most important being American food giant Carnation. Since 1996 there has been other acquisitions including San Pellegrino (1997), Spillers Petfoods (1998) and Ralston Purina (2002). There were two major acquisitions in North America, both in 2002: in July, Nestlé merged its U.S. ice cream business into Dreyer's and in August, a US$ 2.6bn acquisition was announced of Chef America, Inc. In 2003 Mövenpick Ice Cream was acquired, enhancing Nestlé's position as one of the world market leaders in this product category. In 2006, Jenny Craig and Uncle Toby's were added to the Nestlé