Vevey / CH. (nsa) Swiss Nestle S.A. announced a series of investments that will further strengthen its footprint in China and enable it to further enhance its product portfolio with innovative and premium products. The investments, in total more than 100 million Swiss Francs (RMB 730 million), include a significant capacity expansion of Nestle’s existing petfood plant in Tianjin, introducing new production lines for high-value products building on the strong growth in the company’s existing petfood portfolio. It also includes the company’s first production facility in Asia for plant-based products. In addition, there will be new investment for the confectionery business with an upgrade of the production line of Nestle Chengzhen Wafer. Nestle will also further develop the Tianjin Nestle Quality Assurance Center.
Together these investments underline Nestle’s determination to contribute to the transformation and upgrading of China’s food industry. A signing ceremony for a Memorandum of Understanding between the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) Administrative Commission and Nestle China was held in Tianjin. Guests from both the government and companies witnessed the signing of the partnership agreements.
Mr. Rashid Qureshi, Chairman and CEO of Nestle Great China Region, said, «Nestle has a strong commitment to China and has long been dedicated to deepening our roots in the Chinese market. Since Nestle opened the first factory in Tianjin in 1994, we have continued to increase our investment and regard TEDA as one of our important bases in China. We are grateful to the local government for always providing Nestle with such an excellent business and investment environment. In the spirit of Nestle’s ‘Creating Shared Value’ principle, we expect these projects to boost sustainable economic development in local communities by driving food manufacturing expansion and product innovation.»
Mr. Zheng Weiming, Party Secretary and Director of the Administrative Commission of TEDA, said, «Nestle is a world-leading food company. Over the past 25 years, Nestle has been continuously making investments in Tianjin city, effectively boosting local economic growth and driving overall development of the local food industry. Since the Covid-19 epidemic in China, Nestle has actively responded to the government’s call to promote economic development and continued to increase its investment and expand production in Tianjin.»
With the rapid pace of urbanization in China, pet ownership has been a trend and is becoming increasingly popular not only in top tier cities but also across low-tier and rural areas. Viewing this trend as a significant opportunity, Nestle plans to further invest in and increase the production capacity of Nestle Purina PetCare factory in TEDA. It will introduce production lines for brand new high value-added products, such as the Veterinary Diet and Wet Cat Food categories, to provide pets with richer and premium food options.
In recent years, the food sector has undergone a quiet revolution as people are choosing more and more healthy, nutritious, and environmentally friendly foods. To meet this demand, Nestle has decided to step up its focus on the plant-based category and invest in a new production facility at TEDA. By investing more in latest technologies to create products using plant, Nestle will help to reduce carbon emissions. In 2019, Nestle announced the goal of achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Nestle continues to bring innovation to its product offerings in China. Chengzhen, a flagship wafer product series launched in 2019, has been widely welcomed by the market. With this latest project, Nestle will increase investment in the transformation of wafer products and expand the annual production capacity in order to provide consumers with more diversified options for healthy leisure snacks.
Beyond the expansion of production capacity, Nestle will also upgrade its Quality Assurance Center in Tianjin by further enhancing laboratory testing and quality monitoring services, quality assurance and laboratory capacity-building training, technical support for food safety and compliance testing, and more.
Mr. Rashid Qureshi, Chairman and CEO of Nestle Greater China Region, concluded, «Having successfully managed the effects of the Covid19 pandemic with the support of the Chinese authorities, Nestle has decided to increase its investments in China which is another clear demonstration of our long-term commitment and confidence in the country. By launching a series of innovative products in Chinese markets, we hope to further enhance people’s quality of life and contribute to a healthier future.»
About Nestle in China
Nestle has been rooted in China for over 30 years, providing consumers with tastier and healthier choices and creating shared value for shareholders and society. China is now the second biggest market for Nestle. The company has 31 production sites, three R+D and four innovation centers, a food safety institute, a dairy farming institute and one coffee center. Nestle employs about 43,000 people in China.
