Purina fuels Nestlé’s growth in Europe and North America amid flat earnings

In the first 9 months of 2024, Purina generated sales worth CHF 14 billion ($16.1B/€14.9B), consistent with its performance during the same period last year. The business recorded 3% organic growth during the period.

In Q3 2024, Nestlé’s pet business hit CHF 4.5 billion ($5.2B/€4.7B) in sales. During this period, increased promotional activity in pet care and dairy helped offset pricing hikes in other businesses like confectionery and coffee.

Purina’s overall growth was primarily driven by its science-based premium brands, such as Purina Pro Plan, Purina ONE and Fancy Feast, which contributed to “steady” single-digit growth.

Regional performance

Pet food was a key driver of market share gains in both North America and Europe.

In the first 9 months of 2024, Purina in North America saw low single-digit growth, led by Purina Pro Plan, Fancy Feast and Friskies. The European market experienced mid-single-digit growth, driven by Purina ONE, Gourmet and Pro Plan.

In Asia, Oceania and Africa, the pet care business delivered mid-single-digit growth, supported by Felix and Purina ONE. However, the Latin American market remained flat, with sales maintained by Felix and Friskies.

According to the company, China stood out with double-digit growth, largely driven by new product launches and strong e-commerce performance for Purina Pro Plan and Friskies.

Outlook

Nestlé CEO Laurent Freixe highlighted weakening consumer demand in recent months, which led the company to revise its full-year guidance. The company anticipates 2% overall organic sales growth by year-end, further down from the reduced guidance of 3% forecast at the end of the first half of 2024.

“We will sharpen our focus on consumers and customers and advance our categories to accelerate performance and gain market share,” he comments.

The company aims to expand its digital transformation to enhance “agility and efficiency.”

New appointments

Nestlé has unveiled a series of organizational and leadership changes to enhance performance and drive transformation, effective from 2025.

This includes the merger of Zone Latin America (LATAM) and Zone North America (NA) into a single entity called Zone Americas (AMS), which will be headed by Steve Presley.

Additionally, the company will integrate Zone Greater China Region (GCR) into Zone Asia, Oceania and Africa (AOA). Remy Ejel will lead this newly restructured zone, while David Zhang will step down from the executive board and continue serving as GCR’s Chairman and CEO.

Freixe emphasized that these changes will “simplify operations, accelerate decision-making, and strengthen global initiatives.”