Nestle’s Turnaround Is Taking Shape a Year Into Philipp Navratil’s Tenure
Nestle grew organic sales 4% in the third quarter, and North American volumes turned positive. Its Gerber nutrition unit still lags.
A year after Philipp Navratil took over as CEO, Nestle’s numbers are starting to move, but the company says it is not done.
TLDR
- Third-quarter organic sales rose 4%.
- North American volumes grew 1.8%, after falling 0.6% the quarter before.
- Nestle is cutting about 16,000 jobs over two years.
- Gerber and the nutrition unit “underperformed our potential,” the CEO said.
The Results
Nestle reported third-quarter sales of 22.76 billion Swiss francs, about $27.7 billion, with organic growth of 4%, Food Dive reported. Stouffer’s and DiGiorno frozen foods gained market share, Starbucks and Nescafe coffee rebounded after price increases, and confectionery improved.
“I am pleased with our progress, but I’m not satisfied,” said Navratil, who became CEO in September 2025. “We need to continue this journey, execute relentlessly and deliver consistently.”
The Reset
Nestle has sold its premium waters unit, the rest of its ice cream business and some mainstream vitamin and supplement brands. It is eliminating about 16,000 roles, roughly 6% of its workforce, over two years. Chief financial officer Anna Manz said more price increases are possible “to the extent we can without damaging medium term consumer penetration,” adding that “the US consumer is increasingly challenged.”
Why It Matters
The weak spot is Gerber, which is also now facing a heavy metals lawsuit from Texas. Nestle launched a kids’ hydration drink in September as part of the nutrition turnaround. How it fixes Gerber, while pricing through rising costs, will define the next phase of Navratil’s tenure.
Source: Food Dive. Read the report.