India's emergence among the top five global markets for Nestle SA is now 'on the horizon', the Swiss food and beverage giant's CEO Philipp Navratil said during a media roundtable. According to reports from Rediff Moneynews, Navratil, who became CEO of Swiss MNC Nestle SA on September 1, 2025, emphasized that 'Top five is definitely... it is on the horizon. It is not something that will happen 20 years down the road. It is on the horizon. And the team is working towards that.' The CEO stated that 'Emerging markets have been driving growth for Nestle across the board and India is leading the pack. In the first half of CY2026 India was the highest performing market in terms of growth. It is among the top ten markets for us and it it becoming among the top five markets on the horizon,' highlighting India's leadership role in driving growth across emerging markets in Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Nestle India reported exceptional financial performance in the June quarter, with net profit surging 48% year-on-year to ₹958.7 crore and consolidated revenue from operations rising 25% to ₹6,378.2 crore, driven by robust volume-led growth. As per Moneycontrol, this performance reinforces India's position as one of the highest performers of the group and continues to demonstrate the country's strong market potential. 'There is plenty of opportunity on both the value and premium ends' and India has been identified as 'one of the largest priorities that we have in the group'. While the company had announced ₹5,000 crore investment for India in 2022, Navratil indicated that 'investment in India will be consistent, and as India grows above the group average, the investment will also be above the group average in this country'.
According to Moneycontrol, Nestle is scaling up its export operations from India and aims to make it an export hub for other global markets. The company currently exports to 28 countries across the world, including products like coconut milk and Maggi noodles, which Navratil noted 'can be more and better'. 'We should do even more to see India as a production hub to export. We're doing that already,' he stated, adding that 'the scale of India makes sure that we invest in those factories are at capacity very fast'. This expansion aligns with Nestle's strategy to leverage India's manufacturing capabilities for global markets, with the company identifying India as 'one of the largest priorities that we have in the group'.
According to Moneycontrol, Nestle has identified five priorities to work on in India, including having the right portfolio, driving efficiencies, driving a performance culture, and focus on RIG (real internal growth) led growth. 'RIG-led growth comprises volume growth, which is serving more consumers every day, getting into more households and pricing which includes the opportunity to premiumise the portfolio while driving affordability and value to capture consumers across the spectrum,' Navratil explained. The company has also launched a new hub focused on catering to the value-conscious consumers as competition continues to heat up. 'We are not scared of competition, but we take it seriously,' Navratil said, adding that 'the firm has launched a new hub to offering 'high quality products at the right value proposition' and emphasized that 'anything we do globally, for example, on noodles, on spices, etc. is done out of India because the capabilities are here, the knowledge is here, and the expertise is here'.
As reported by Rediff Moneynews, Nestle has welcomed front-of-pack labelling regulations and expressed confidence in the company's competitive position. 'Even if it's not regulated we welcome transparency. It is important for consumers to recognise the ingredients that go in their cupboard. If the front of the pack labelling regulation is brought in different shapes and forms... we welcome it. We have seen other countries doing that. It has to be done in the right way. For instance: it has to be done by portion and not by grammage because consumers eat portions not grams of products,' Navratil explained. He added that 'the company has seen other countries doing that and it has to be done the right way' and emphasized that 'it should be done by portions and not by grammage' since people eat in portions, not grams. 'We are a food company. For us, the quality of the product, we will always move slowly, keeping the consumer at the heart of what we do' and emphasized that 'consumers come along, which is important. You need to take consumers along. You need to take consumers along.'
