Nestlé’s price rises went ‘too far,’ burdening consumers and ultimately turning them away, chairman admits

Paul Bulcke is the chairman of Nestlé.

Unrelenting inflation in the aftermath of the pandemic forced consumer companies like Nestlé to hike prices. But the Swiss company may have gone too far.

Nestlé has already started to course-correct, having cut marketing and advertising expenses to control costs during the high inflation period. But the consumer giant’s chairman believes more needs to be done.

Paul Bulcke told Swiss media that the company must do something to lure shoppers back to its brand. Consumers have turned away from Nestlé’s higher costs, hurting its market share.

"That had an influence on sales," Bulcke said in an interview with Swiss television channel TeleZueri on Tuesday, reported by Reuters.

The company may have saddled more of the price burden on consumers than they could bear amid the soaring cost of living.

"Perhaps we went a bit too far with prices. That needs to be rolled back. The consumer must be able to buy our products. We need to act there," he said.

Representatives at Nestlé declined Fortune’s request for further comment.

His comments come just days after Nestlé’s new CEO, Laurent Freixe, announced a turnaround plan that includes $2.8 billion in cost cuts and the spin-off of its underperforming units.

“Nestlé has reduced investment over the last years in the area of generating demand, which is not the best idea to drive growth and market shares. This is changing,” Freixe told investors last week.

Nestlé lowered its sales outlook in July and then again in October as consumer demand remained weak due to harsh macroeconomic conditions. The maker of Nescafe and KitKat jacked up prices several times during the pandemic. Geopolitical factors, such as the war in the Middle East, have also hit Nestlé’s traction.

Under Freixe's leadership, Nestlé now plans to refocus on its “billionaire” brands to propel it back to its old glory.

During the pandemic, consumer companies like PepsiCo and Nestlé came under fire for unprecedented price increases—even if it was to cope with higher costs and supply chain complications—pushing shoppers to spend more on essential goods.

After nearly three years of rapid successive price hikes, consumer goods behemoths have been trying to pull shoppers in once again.

To be sure, Nestlé’s rivals have faced the same pains. Unilever, for instance, hasn’t been able to win back consumers, as more of them are budget-conscious now and opt for the best deal rather than the brand they’ve historically been loyal to. The British company has also regained some of its lost sales volumes, while Nestlé has trailed behind.

Nestlé's sales shrunk by 2.4% in the first nine months of 2024, following a similar trend during the previous quarters. Meanwhile, Unilever, which makes Dove soaps and Knorr soups, reported growth in sales for every quarter so far this year.

"There is value-seeking behaviour among consumers. There is pressure, especially at the low-income range," Nestlé’s former CEO Mark Schneider, who was ousted in August, said on a call in July.

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