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Nestle Expects Double-digit Growth

DUBAI - Nestlé Middle East, which sold products worth $1.4 billion last year, expects a double-digit growth in 2010 revenues, its chairman and chief executive officer Yves Manghardt said.

The Swiss company’s Dubai office serves as a regional hub catering to the needs of 13 countries around the region, including the GCC, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Iran, Iraq and Yemen.

“There was a single digit growth in 2009 compared to 2008, but this year we expect a double-digit or 10 per cent growth,” Manghardt told Khaleej Times as the company’s regional office in Jebel Ali on Wednesday.

The UAE is the second largest market for Nestlé in the Middle East followed by Syria, Lebanon and Kuwait. More than $400 million was invested in the region since the inception of Nestlé Middle East in 1997. Manghardt said that the UAE market recorded $150 million revenues in 2009, more or less the same it witnessed in 2008.

Nestlé recently started a new multi-million-dollar facility in Dubai’s TechnoPark, which is producing powdered milk. The new facility will also manufacture chocolates and wafers later this year. In addition, Nestle Pure Life bottled water will also be produced and distributed from the facility. “We are planning official opening of the TechnoPark facility in December this year,” Manghardt said.

Nestlé Middle East owns and operates 17 factories and 37 offices across the Middle East, employing over 7,000 people across all operations. More than 60 products in the Middle East in a wide range of categories including bottled water, coffee, infant nutrition, creamers, milks, culinary, confectionery and breakfast cereals. Popular brands include Kit Kat, Quality Street, Nido, Cerelac, Nescafé, Coffee Mate, Maggi, Nestlé Pure Life, Nestlé Fitness, Nan, And Purina.

New Products

The New Kit Kat Senses: A new Kit Kat has just been introduced in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Kit Kat is one of the most popular chocolate brands globally. In the Middle East, over 800 million Kit Kat fingers are enjoyed every year.

New from Maggi: Its one of Nestlé’s most popular brands in the Middle East and worldwide. Two lines have recently been added to Maggi’s portfolio in the Middle East. These are Maggi Excellence: Premium Soups and the new Maggi Mixes.

New from Nescafé: It has just added the ready-to-drink, single-serve iced coffee range to its rich product portfolio in the region. The new range includes three flavours: original, mocha and latte. Nescafé has been the world’s leading and trusted coffee brand for more than 60 years, providing coffee lovers with a wide range of coffee products to suit their various tastes and moods. Probiotics in Infant Nutrition: The company uses revolutionary technology to add probiotics to premium infant nutrition products. Recently, two lines have been upgraded with the addition of Bifidus BL; a probiotic clinically proven to help the baby fight against harmful bacteria in the digestive system, thus supporting his natural defenses. Premium infant nutrition products with Bifidus BL include Nestlé Cerelac infant cereals and Nan 1 starter formula.

abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com