Quick Take — Peter Brabeck-Lemathe leaves Nestlé: what does it mean?

I copy an article of mine from the 1990s:

“Peter Brabeck-Letmathe was CEO (managing director) of Nestlé at the time, today he is its Chairman (chairman of the board).

There were ‘sparks’ with Brabeck during one of his visits to Milan. We were in the fruit and vegetable department of the Superstore in Corsico…

Then, as none of us had any interest in quarrelling, everything returned to order.

And Nestlé, very realistically, will end up eliminating GMOs from its products in Italy’.

The fact that as honorary chairman, Brabeck- Lemathe was no longer listened to and questioned makes one realise how much Nestlé has lost its bearings. And in fact, for years, it has been going through a deep crisis, which seems to have no end ( it had its biggest problem with water and frozen pizzas. On water it got away with it).

Drafted 27 December, updated 31 December 2025

JBS: skyrocketing meat prices in the US amid use of anti-obesity drugs and increasing protein consumption

The anti-obesity molecule revolution is challenging the model of the industry giants, which could lose up to USD 90 billion in the US by 2031. As a result, multinationals are trying to switch to Europe and a more protein-rich offer. And US restaurants – given the level of meat inflation – are struggling and reducing staff and portions of their dishes

The European Parliament votes to dismantle the law against deforestation

The anti-deforestation legislation, hailed as revolutionary by environmental organisations, was strongly criticised from the start by some countries, such as Brazil, the US and, within the EU, Germany, eager to protect their foresters. Several large companies, including Nestlé, Danone and Ferrero, had however prepared themselves and were urging Brussels to definitively implement it…

Quick Take — Nestlé cuts 16,000 jobs

The plan, which was unveiled yesterday in Zurich, calls for 12,000 redundancies in various sectors and geographic areas and another 4,000 related to initiatives already underway to improve productivity in production and the supply chain.
The announcement came alongside the results for the first nine months of 2025, which show sales down 1.9 per cent to CHF 65.9 billion (around EUR 71 billion). However, in the third quarter the group, which produces brands such as Kit Kat and Nescafé, reported a 4.3% increase in sales, above expectations, thanks to organic growth of 3.3% and a 2.8% price increase.

This is not surprising given the problems of Nestlé and the big markets in general.

Quick Take — In Milan’s Piazza Cordusio: the first Nespresso Bar experiment in Italy.

The shop, in fact, is intended to be a mix of the usual capsule shop, here in true boutique format, combined with the bar part, which in this case operates with a special format.

From Monday to Friday, from 8 to 10 a.m., breakfast is offered with table service in the lounge area, where coffees are combined with pastries and croissants.

Every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., on the other hand, thanks to a window looking outside , Nespresso coffee is offered ‘on the go’, with the classic walking paper cup. In this case, customers can still come in and use the tables inside, but without table service.

Below: a Nespresso facility in France