Explore our nest museum

Nestlé is a Swiss Company in the food, beverage, nutrition and wellness business.

Our history dates back to 1866, when the first European condensed milk factory was opened in Cham, Switzerland by the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company. A year later in 1867 in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé’s founder Henri Nestlé developed the world’s first milk food for infants– a combination of cow’s milk, wheat flour and sugar - to save the life of a neighbour’s child; a premature infant who could tolerate neither his mother's milk nor any of the conventional substitutes and had been given up for lost by local physicians. Nutrition has been the cornerstone of our company ever since.

People across the world soon began to recognise the value of his life-saving product, named Farine lactée, which created a global company by 1872. Following a two-decade long battle as fierce competitors, the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company merged with Nestlé in 1905 to form the leading food, beverage, nutrition, health and wellness company it is today.

Henri Nestlé, himself an immigrant from Germany, was instrumental in turning Nestlé towards international expansion from the very start. Our company owes more than its name, logo and first infant-food product to our founder. Henri Nestlé embodied many of the key attitudes and values that form part and parcel of Nestlé’s corporate culture – pragmatism, flexibility, the willingness to learn, an open mind, and respect for other people and cultures.

Today, Henri Nestlé’s legacy to enhance the quality of life everywhere still lives on in the company’s philosophy of Creating Shared Value, which is embedded within our values and the essence of the way we do business.