New Delhi, 14th July 2023: Nestlé, the Swiss food and beverage (F&B) conglomerate, is expanding its presence in India by establishing a new plant in Odisha. Nestlé India, the local subsidiary of the Vevey, Switzerland-based firm, has already received approval from the government.
Nestlé, India’s largest F&B firm, will establish a manufacturing factory to predominantly create packaged food goods. According to insiders, it has already picked a place in Odisha’s Khurda district, near the state capital Bhubaneswar.
According to them, the corporation intends to invest around Rs 900 crore in the packaged goods plant, which might employ nearly 800 people. Nestlé has been operating in India since 1912, and this would be the company’s tenth production unit.
While Nestlé initially imported its baby formula products into the Indian market, it established its first plant in 1961 at Moga, Punjab.
A Nestlé India spokesman responded to Business Today’s inquiries and said, “We have made an application for allotment of land in Odisha, for setting up a manufacturing unit. We are given to understand that State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) has approved the proposal. However, we are yet to receive any official communication.”
Nestlé established its ninth facility in Sanand, Gujarat, last year with an expenditure of more than Rs 700 crore to speed up local manufacturing of its best-selling Maggi instant noodles. These initiatives are part of Nestlé India’s Rs 2,600-crore capex project, which was revealed a few years ago by Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Narayanan.
Narayan had stated in a recent interview, “Over the years, we have delivered penetration and volume growth that was industry leading for most of this period. Secondly, our portfolio is stronger than ever and Nestle leads in multiple categories that it is present in. And third, the pace of innovation is fairly active.”
Narayanan’s efforts to improve Nestlé’s production capacity are not without reason. During Covid-19, its net sales increased at an 11 percent CAGR to Rs 16,790 crore. Moreover, despite sharp commodity price inflation, its net profit increased by 6.7% CAGR to Rs 2,305 crore in CY22. Nestle’s fiscal year runs from January to December.
