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The Company father and founder


Henri Nestlé – the man behind the international enterprise and one of the strongest and most renown brand names on a global level.

Oils, bone meal fertiliser, vinegar, liqueurs, white lead, mustard, mineral water, lemonade, liquid gas, cement – these were just some of the products being developed and sold by Henri Nestlé (1814–90) in Vevey. The skilled pharmacologist was continuously looking for new sources of revenue with ground-breaking goods for an urban society on the tip of modernism. He worked unremittingly and was not afraid to take risks.

Heinrich Nestle, as he was originally called, was born in Frankfurt am Main, where he went on to train as a pharmacist.

Not much information is available about his activities in the years after completing his traineeship in 1834, but it is supposed that he spent some time working overseas as a journeyman. It is known that five years later he qualified as a pharmacologist's assistant in Lausanne and took up his first position in Vevey as a pharmacist. He later set up his own business in 1843.

Having rapidly learnt French, he altered his name to the language of his adopted home: Heinrich Nestle thus became Henri Nestlé. Nestlé's discovery was a late and unexpected development when he was already 53. Forever seeking the next big thing, he came across the problems still unanswered in the feeding of babies. Infant death was very high at the time, and it was thought that a healthy, high-grade alternate to breast milk would save innumerable babies' lives. Nestlé studied existing chemical analyses of breast milk and conducted numerous experiments in his lab with milk, bread and sugar. He condensed, vacuum-dried and crushed the various ingredients until he created just the precise formula. His 'children's flour' came on the market in 1867, and kept on growing since then.

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A portrait of Henri Nestlé (1867)
A portrait of Henri Nestlé (1867)
A portrait of Henri Nestlé (1867)
Henri Nestlé started as a pharmacist’s apprentice. In the late 1860s, troubled by the high infant death rate, he used his scientific knowledge to create an infant formula. By the time he was 60, the Nestlé company was an international success. And his milk-based baby food, Farine Lactée, was being sold across five continents.
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Meet Clémentine Therese Nestlé (1867)
Meet Clémentine Therese Nestlé (1867)
Meet Clémentine Therese Nestlé (1867)
Henri Nestlé's wife Clémentine played an important role in the development of the infant cereal business. As the daughter of a charity doctor, she recognized the potential of the new invention. Her great personal commitment and dedication helped expand the family business far beyond the borders of Switzerland.
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The Nestlé trademark (1868)
The Nestlé trademark (1868)
The Nestlé trademark (1868)
Gifted with a strong instinct for marketing, Henri Nestlé recognized the importance of branding from the very beginning. His logo, which features baby birds being fed in a nest, was based on his family’s crest. That initial image has been updated over the years. Yet it still remains the recognizable and distinctive logo of Nestlé today.
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Vevey: home to the Nestlé business
Vevey: home to the Nestlé business
Vevey: home to the Nestlé business
Henri Nestlé began his business in the small Swiss lakeside town of Vevey. There was an abundance of fresh milk in the local area, which he used to start creating his infant cereal. A lot has changed since 1870. But Vevey is still home to Nestlé’s global headquarters today.
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Vevey’s Pharmacie Centrale
Vevey’s Pharmacie Centrale
Vevey’s Pharmacie Centrale
Henri Nestlé’ was a pharmacist’s assistant in Vevey between 1839 and 1843. His training in chemistry shaped his attitude and his future approach to business. As a constant innovator, he experimented with the production of everything from lemonade to cement, before focusing on infant cereal. In the late 1860s he invented Farine Lactée, a product that would change his fortune and the world.
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Meeting demand with milk deliveries
Meeting demand with milk deliveries
Meeting demand with milk deliveries
In the early days of production, Henri Nestlé bought the milk he needed each morning. Yet by the summer of 1869, two years after launching the Farine Lactée, this was no longer practical. He decided to buy his supplies from a milk collection center in a small village near Vevey. It was delivered by horse and cart direct to his factory.
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Making the most of Switzerland’s milk
Making the most of Switzerland’s milk
Making the most of Switzerland’s milk
Although he was originally from Germany, Henri Nestlé - and his successors - used Switzerland’s milk as the basis of their products. Known for its high quality, the milk became a big feature in the product’s marketing. Today, Nestlé remains one of the world’s largest purchasers of milk, as well as other natural products like cocoa and coffee.
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Supporting infant nutrition
Supporting infant nutrition
Supporting infant nutrition
In the late 1860s, Henri Nestlé produced a series of detailed pamphlets explaining the science behind his product, which he distributed to doctors and pharmacists. These pamphlets outlined that breastfeeding should always be the natural choice, however infant cereal was an option if needed.
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Building the Nestlé brand
Building the Nestlé brand
Building the Nestlé brand
Henri Nestlé understood the importance of creating a brand. From the outset, he invested time in developing his marketing. This influence still echoed in Nestlé’s brand campaigns after Henri sold his business. The advertisements at the turn of the 20th century were beautiful as well as functional.
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