Nestlé promises a boost in marketing spend
After posting solid growth numbers in 2024, Nestlé is promising to bring advertising spending back to 2019 levels by the end of the year.
The world’s largest consumer packaged goods company announced Thursday that it plans to increase promotional spending as a percentage of sales to 9% to close out 2025.
In recent years, the Swiss-based company’s advertising and marketing spend had fallen from 9.0% of sales in 2019 to a low of 6.6% in the first half of 2022. In 2024, spending recovered to 8.1%.
“We stepped up advertising and marketing investments by 40 basis points,” Nestle CEO Laurent Freixe said in a news release, adding that it has a clear roadmap to accelerate performance and transform for the future.
“Increasing investment to drive growth is central to our plan,” Freixe notes. “While there is macroeconomic uncertainty, we have lots of opportunities ahead of us, and we have the strategy, the resources and the people and team to deliver.”
Coffee led the way as Nestlé’s largest growth contributor with Nescafé, Nespresso and Starbucks aiding mid-single-digit gains.
Sales in confectionery grew at a mid-single-digit rate, led by KitKat and key local brands.
PetCare achieved low-single-digit growth driven by “continued momentum” from premium brands Purina ProPlan, Purina One and Friskies.
Nestlé Health Science, the company’s line of nutritional products, achieved mid-single-digit growth after posting double-digit gains in the second half of the year.
The company’s water division reported low-single-digit growth on solid performances by its S. Pellegrino and Maison Perrier sparkling-water products.
Corby hikes ad spend
Assisted by its Nude line of cocktails, Canadian marketer and distributor of spirits and wines, Corby boosted revenue by more than 10% and pushed its ad spend higher in the fiscal second quarter.
The company announced second-quarter revenue of $61.7 million on Wednesday, reflecting growth of more than $5.6 million compared with the same period last year. The inclusion of Nude, acquired from MXM Beverages last April, contributed revenue of $3.0 million in the period.
Corby’s reported revenue of $126.8 million through two quarters represents a $12.1 million increase of more than 11% compared with the same period last year. Year-over-year growth was bolstered by Nude’s revenue of $8.0 million through two quarters.
The company’s marketing, sales and administrative expenses increased 4% to $18.2 million, partly owing to promotional and overhead spending in Nude.
Domestic investments lapped sponsorship and media-campaign event spending from the first half of fiscal 2024 not repeated this year and Corby put further promotional support behind strategic brand J.P. Wiser’s.”
