6 Companies Owned (and 1 Major Licensing Deal) by Nestlé

Pet food, frozen foods, vitamins, meal delivery, and a Starbucks licensing deal

Reviewed by Samantha Silberstein

Nestlé S.A. is the largest food and beverage company in the world and has made some major strategic deals since the 1970s. These deals include producers of vitamins, baby food, pet food, frozen food, and a meal delivery service—and even a giant licensing agreement with Starbucks that dwarfs the size of many of its takeovers. It also made no secret of its desire to expand into healthier foods, as obesity becomes a bigger problem. So who are some of these names?

Below, we’ll explore the Starbucks licensing deal and six of the most significant acquisitions in the company’s history. Nestlé does not provide a breakdown of the profits and sales that this licensing deal and these acquisitions contribute to the company.

Key Takeaways

• Nestlé is the world’s largest food and beverage company.
• Acquisitions and strategic deals have helped the company expand its offerings and market.
• The licensing agreement with Starbucks allows Nestlé to sell the coffee chain’s products in its stores.
• Other major acquisitions include Gerber, Purina, and Stouffer’s.

History of Nestlé

Nestlé (NSRGY) began as a producer of infant food in 1867. In 1905, the company merged with the Anglo-Swiss Milk Co. to become Nestlé Group. Nestlé survived World War I, and its products were a staple for U.S. servicemen in Europe during World War II.

Since World War II, the Swiss multinational mounted an aggressive expansion strategy, making a long string of major acquisitions. This helped it expand and strengthen its product portfolio. Nestlé’s total sales in 2023 were roughly 93.0 billion Swiss francs, or CHF, with a trading operating profit of 14.5 billion CHF. As of Jan. 21, 2025, the company’s market capitalization was approximately $210.22 billion.

Nestlé highlighted a shift toward healthier fare when it announced in 2018 the sale of its U.S. candy business to the Ferrero Group, one of the world’s largest chocolate and confectionery companies. It has divested other assets since then:

• In 2019, it sold its U.S. ice cream business for roughly $4 billion
• In early 2021, it sold its regional spring water brands, purified water business, and beverage delivery service in the U.S. and Canada for $4.3 billion

Nestlé has also made acquisitions in organic products, which are increasingly popular with consumers concerned about the environment and their health.

Note

Nestlé employs more than 2,000 brands that are sold in almost 190 countries.

Starbucks Licensing Deal

• Type of Business: Coffee
• Licensing Price: $7.15 billion
• Date of Closing: Aug. 28, 2018

One of the most important deals in Nestlé’s history is not an acquisition but a licensing agreement. We include it in this story because it constitutes one of the largest—and potentially most lucrative—deals in the company’s history.

In 2018, Nestlé agreed to pay Starbucks (SBUX) $7.15 billion for the rights to sell Starbucks-branded coffee in retail stores outside of Starbucks locations. This deal does not allow Nestlé to put its name on Starbucks products—only to sell those items in retail stores.

The deal strengthened Nestlé’s already-strong footprint in the coffee industry, with brands like Nescafe and Nespresso. Within 12 months of the agreement, Nestlé launched 29 Starbucks products across 40 countries. The market expanded to nearly 80 countries by 2023.

On Jan. 13, 2023, Nestlé acquired Seattle’s Best Coffee from Starbucks. As of November 2024, Nestlé is the top coffee company in the world.

Gerber Products

• Type of Business: Baby food
• Acquisition Price: $5.5 billion
• Date of Purchase: Sept. 3, 2007

Founded in 1927, Gerber Products was acquired by Nestlé in 2007. Gerber had nearly $2 billion in annual sales and was owned by pharmaceutical company Novartis AG before the acquisition.

In 2023, Nestlé’s Nutrition and Health Science division, which includes Gerber, accounted for 16.4% of the company’s total sales. Before the acquisition, Nestlé had no major presence in the U.S. baby food market. Nestlé prioritized the development of non-GMO and organic products to expand the Gerber brand.

Ralston Purina

• Type of Business: Pet foods
• Acquisition Price: $10.3 billion
• Date of Purchase: Dec. 11, 2001

Nestlé Purina PetCare was founded as the Robinson-Danforth Commission Co. in 1894 and later became known as Ralston Purina. Under Nestlé, Purina PetCare has dramatically expanded its global sales, with popular brands such as Friskies, Pro Plan, and Felix.

In 2023, Nestlé’s PetCare segment represented 20.3% of the company’s total sales. Ralston Purina fits well with the company’s aggressive growth strategy, as it expands the company’s base beyond its traditional focus on food and beverages for consumers.

Atrium Innovations

• Type of Business: Vitamins and supplements
• Acquisition Price: $2.3 billion
• Date of Purchase: March 8, 2018

Atrium Innovations is a maker of vitamins and nutritional supplements. It started as a subsidiary of a Canadian biotech company before being spun off in 2006. It was acquired in 2014 by an investment consortium led by private equity firm Permira Funds.

As consumers grew more health-conscious, Nestlé moved toward healthier brands and purchased Atrium in 2018. The deal boosts Nestlé’s participation in the vitamin and supplement market and serves a dual purpose: It expands Nestlé’s overall business and helps it to market itself as a healthier company.

Stouffer’s

• Type of Business: Frozen foods
• Acquisition Price: $105 million
• Date of Purchase: March 5, 1973

Stouffer’s was founded in 1922 and went on to build a national chain of restaurants over the next several decades. A key development for the company occurred in 1954 when Stouffer’s began to create frozen meals for sale. Stouffer’s became best known for its line of frozen food products.

Nestlé purchased Stouffer’s in 1973 from Litton Industries, a defense contractor that expanded to offer retail products, including microwave ovens. At the time of the acquisition, frozen meals were popular with consumers and Stouffer’s was a major brand.

Stouffer’s, one of Nestlé’s earlier deals, provided a template for future forays into healthier foods. In 1981, Stouffer’s launched its successful Lean Cuisine line of low-calorie frozen entrées.

Freshly

• Type of Business: Meal delivery service
• Acquisition Price: up to $1.5 billion
• Acquisition Date: Oct. 30, 2020

Freshly launched in 2012 as a meal delivery service, providing fresh, fully cooked meals to customers across the United States. The company offered a weekly subscription service, capitalizing on a growing trend of subscription delivery services across a variety of product areas. In 2020, the company delivered more than one million meals per week to about 20,000 U.S. ZIP codes.

Nestlé acquired Freshly the same year, maintaining it as a stand-alone company with complete control of its products and subscription pricing.

Nestlé’s acquisition helped it gain additional exposure to the growing market for healthy foods while also capitalizing on the rise of meal delivery services such as Blue Apron. Freshly ended meal delivery service and Nestlé divested a majority stake of Freshly in 2023.

The Bountiful Company (Core Brands)

• Type of Business: Supplements and nutrition
• Acquisition Price: $5.75 billion
• Acquisition Date: Aug. 9, 2021

Launched in 1971, The Bountiful Company is a nutrition company providing vitamins, supplements, and related products. Nestlé acquired The Bountiful Company’s core brands for $5.75 billion in August 2021, including Nature’s Bounty, Solgar, Osteo Bi-Flex, and Puritan’s Pride. Nestle folded these brands into Nestlé Health Science, to make it a global leader in nutritional supplements, vitamins, and minerals.

Nestlé Diversity & Inclusiveness Transparency

As part of our effort to improve the awareness of the importance of diversity in companies, we have highlighted the transparency of Nestlé’s commitment to diversity, inclusiveness, and social responsibility. The chart below illustrates how Nestlé reports the diversity of its management and workforce. This shows if Nestlé discloses data about the diversity of its board of directors, C-Suite, general management, and employees overall across a variety of markers. We have indicated that transparency with a ✔.

What Is Nestlé’s Largest Product Line?

Nestlé’s largest product line is the powdered and liquid beverages. Some of the most popular names in this segment include Nescafé, Nespresso, and Nesquik,

How Can I Invest in Nestlé?

Nestlé is a Swiss company whose shares trade on the SIX Swiss Exchange. You can invest in the company by purchasing American depositary receipts (ADRs), which trade over-the-counter (OTC) in the U.S. under the ticker symbol NSRGY. These can be bought and sold through a brokerage account. You can also buy and sell shares of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that hold the company in their portfolios.

What Are Some of Nestlé’s Most Popular Brands?

Nestlé’s portfolio of brands includes more than 2,000 different names. Some of the most popular ones are Nescafé, KitKat, Nespresso, Maggi, Toll House, and Milo.

The Bottom Line

Nestlé is the world’s largest food and beverage company with a presence in almost 190 countries and over 2,000 brand names under its portfolio. Acquisitions and agreements, including the one with Starbucks, have helped the company expand its offerings and markets. If you’re an investor looking to capitalize on the company’s success, consider trading the company’s ADRs or shares of mutual funds and ETFs that have Nestlé in their portfolio.