Nestlé Marks 130 Years of Goodness in Thailand Driving its ‘Good for You’ and ‘Good for the Planet’ Commitment to Better Serve Thai Consumers

As the Good food, Good life company, Nestlé is commemorating its 130 years in Thailand by driving two strategic focuses: Good for You, which reinforces the company’s strong commitment to nutrition, health, and wellness (NHW), and Good for the Planet, which ensures Nestlé’s products and operations are sustainable. Together, they will enable Nestlé to better serve the needs of Thai consumers, making Thais healthier and our world a better place.
 

"Nestlé has been deeply committed to Thailand for 130 years and we are proud to be commemorating this milestone," said Mr. Victor Seah, Chairman and CEO, Nestlé Indochina. "We believe in creating shared value for both our stakeholders and Thai society and remain committed to our strong purpose of unlocking the power of food to enhance the quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come."

Nestlé’s 130-Year Heritage and Contribution to Thai Society

Nestlé has operated its business in Thailand for 130 years while contributing positively to the country in all aspects of ESG (Environment, Social, & Governance). The company helps to protect, renew, and restore the environment based on its Net Zero 2050 roadmap.

Nestlé promotes social wellbeing with healthy and tasty products. Currently, 100 products are certified with the Healthier Choice Logo, while 100% of Nestlé nutrition products have added micronutrient fortification to benefit toddlers and young children. The company has also conducted programs to educate Thais to improve health and wellness for several decades.

Nestlé makes a significant contribution to Thailand's economy through job creation, with 4,000 direct Thai employees and around 10,000 jobs at related business partners. The company also exports several products made in Thailand to countries around the world. Nestlé is committed to continual investment in Thailand, investing more than 13.6 billion baht in two new factories from 2018 to 2022. The company has demonstrated sound corporate governance through its 130-year legacy of compliance with the highest standards.
 

Changing Consumer Trends Drive Nestlé's Business Direction in 2023 

As people move into a post-COVID-19 world with more out-of-home and impulse consumption, Mr. Seah shared details about two distinct mid- to long-term consumer trends, according to recent research that showed Thais are shifting their focus to balanced diets and eco-lifestyles. 

Thais are now looking to improve their health and enrich their lives to enjoy social and psychological benefits through holistic health, which means having a balanced diet. While they enjoy small pleasures, Thais still maintain healthy eating patterns without compromising taste.

While consumers over 45 have higher sustainability awareness, younger Thais below 35 prefer supporting sustainable brands and expect greater transparency and integrity from them, reflecting their eco-lifestyles. Consumers care about a product's origin and how it was made. Today, 62% of Thais have adopted sustainable consumption practices when purchasing products.*

“Nestlé is committed to Thailand as we have been established here for 130 years. Moving forward, our two strategic focuses of Good for You that drives our strong commitment to nutrition, health, and wellness without compromising taste; and Good for the Planet that ensures our products and operations are sustainable, will enable us to answer the needs of Thai consumers and support balanced diet with tastier and healthier options, sustainably and affordably,” said Mr. Seah.

Good For You: A Key to Enhancing Thais’ Nutrition, Health and Wellness (NHW)

With its Good For You strategy, Nestlé is focusing on innovating tastier and healthier products to meet consumers’ needs. It is also enhancing its product portfolio with better taste and higher nutritional benefits than industry standards, emphasizing its strict nutrition criteria for the product development process.

Nestlé will continue to revamp its current product offerings to provide Healthier Choices to consumers. These include Options for Sugar Reduction; Reduced Sodium Options; Micronutrient Fortification; and Enhanced Plant-Based Category products such as Harvest Gourmet in retail format. 

This year, Nestlé is rolling out Nestle Healthy Family Caravan to educate Thais about proper eating and promote health literacy, inspiring them to live healthy and happy lives. The program which aims to reach 300,000 consumers around the country will also educate consumers on waste segregation and recycling. In addition, the SaSuk Ounjai program, in collaboration with the Department of Health, will encourage people in 130 communities nationwide to develop healthier life habits.

Driving the “Good for the Planet” Strategy to Ensure Nestlé’s Products and Operations are Sustainable

With a strong commitment to the environment and sustainability, Nestlé is also driving its Good for the Planet strategy to achieve Net Zero by 2050, its biggest ambition and the core focus that shape the company’s direction and actions.

Through the implementation of a local roadmap over the past several years, the company has made tremendous progress in all areas. For example, 95% of Nestlé’s packaging is already designed for recycling, using renewable energy in our production while the company uses 100% sustainably sourced coffee.

This year, Nestlé is introducing two new initiatives to help achieve its Net Zero goal. An expansion of the Youth Water Guardian project will build on the success of Nestlé’s existing project in Ayutthaya with a new project involving the Nong Thung Thong wetlands in Surat Thani. The project will promote water conservation among the schools and communities around the wetlands along the Tapi River, where a Nestlé Waters Factory operates. 

In Thailand, Nestlé also has a collaboration with the PUR Project to plant and grow 800,000 trees on coffee farms in Ranong and Chumphon provinces, with a target of removing an estimated 200,000t CO2e. This is part of Nestlé’s global efforts to reduce carbon to achieve Net Zero in 2050.  
 

Nestlé 130 Years Corporate Campaign Video: “Passing on the Goodness to All” 

To commemorate its 130th anniversary in Thailand, Nestlé has introduced a special communications campaign (Link to campaign video https://bit.ly/3ZBRRnD) this year to showcase its role in “Passing on the Goodness to All” from generation to generation, throughout its 130-year journey of developing healthier, tastier, high-quality products in a more sustainable way to serve Thai people.