Nestlé: Sustainable Value Chain Management from the Farm to the Fork

Nestlé fundamentally believes that for a company to be successful over the long term and create value for shareholders, it must also create value for society. For Nestlé, this begins with the creation of superior long-term value for shareholders by offering products and services that help people improve their nutrition, health and wellness. Besides nutrition, the company also focuses on water and rural development, given their critical importance to its business as well as to its employees, farmers, suppliers, distributors and communities where it operates. Through its ‘creating shared value’ approach to business, Nestlé aims to add value at every stage of the food supply chain: from sourcing ingredients, to processing, manufacturing and distributing its products to consumers. This case study demonstrates how this is done in Central and West Africa, a region where Nestlé has been present since the 1950s. The creation of shared value starts with Nestlé’s programmes aiming to help farmers produce better quality and higher quantities of the raw materials it needs, to the local manufacturing of its products, while using science and technology to improve their nutritional quality and adapt them to the nutritional needs of local consumers. The chain of benefits continues with the distribution and sale of nutritious products at an affordable price, to allow consumers with lower incomes to profit from affordable nutrition, health and wellness benefits.