Nestlé Brazil President "Shocked" By Cocoa And Coffee Inflation: "We've Never Seen Inflation Like This"

Nestlé Brazil President “Shocked” By Cocoa And Coffee Inflation: “We’ve Never Seen Inflation Like This”

Written by Romário Pereira de Carvalho

Published on 18/09/2025 at 12:58

Updated on 18/09/2025 at 12:59

Imagem ilustrativa: IA

Uma pessoa reagiu a isso.

Nestlé Brazil Faces Rising Costs with Coffee and Cocoa, Bet on Innovation, Tradition, and Scale to Sustain Growth and Competitiveness in the Country

Nestlé has built a significant presence in Brazil over more than a century. Today, the local operation is the third largest in the group worldwide, behind only the United States and China. However, this weight comes with challenges that are becoming increasingly evident.

Input Inflation Pressures Operations

According to Marcelo Melchior, CEO of Nestlé Brazil, the company is facing one of the highest cost pressures ever recorded.

The surge in raw material prices, especially cocoa and coffee, has altered the logic of operations.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

The Weight of Cocoa and Coffee

A large part of the pressure comes from the international market. In the case of cocoa, about 70% of the input used in Brazil is local, but there is still 30% imported from West Africa, a region marked by climate instabilities.

On the other hand, the coffee used by Nestlé is fully certified and sourced in the country. The company operates within the Coffee Plan program, which ensures traceability and quality.

Even so, climate problems, such as droughts and fires, have resulted in smaller and less valued beans, impacting the entire supply chain.

Daily Responsibility to the Consumer

Nestlé’s strength in Brazil is tied to everyday consumption. Low-ticket items, such as biscuits, chocolate drinks, and condensed milk, are present in 99% of households.

This recurrence imposes a significant responsibility. A mistake in quality, availability, or price can mean the immediate loss of a consumer. “If I fail today, tomorrow you won’t buy anymore,” Melchior emphasized.

For this reason, the company seeks consistency. The commitment is to maintain product standards, shelf availability, and price competitiveness.

Exports: Small Impact, Focus on Brazil

Despite its global relevance, the Brazilian operation maintains an almost exclusive focus on the domestic market. Less than 10% of revenue comes from exports.

Thus, external measures, such as barriers imposed by other countries, have a reduced effect.

“The industrial design is made to serve the Brazilian consumer,” explained the president.

Innovation Without Losing the Classics

A central point of the strategy is to balance tradition and modernity. According to Melchior, iconic products — such as Leite Moça, Ninho, and chocolates — need to be kept alive and profitable. Only then can the company create a solid foundation to invest in new products.

In recent years, Nestlé has made gradual changes, such as reducing sugar and sodium, adding vitamins, and using sustainable packaging. All this without altering the essence of the flavor.

Before reaching the market, each launch undergoes a test called the 60-40 test. This means that in blind tastings, at least 60% of consumers should prefer the Nestlé product over competitors.

Acquisitions are also part of the strategy, but they are not treated as the main engine. Deals like Garoto (2016), Pura Vida (2021), and Grupo CRM (2023), which owns the brands Kopenhagen and Brasil Cacau, were moves that accelerated the presence in strategic categories.

“The purchase can be an accelerator, but it is not the strategy,” the CEO reinforced.

Global Results of Nestlé and Outlook

In February 2025, global Nestlé announced sales growth above expectations. Volume growth, from 0.7% to 0.8% in 2024, was sustained by price increases in inputs such as coffee and cocoa. However, the profit margin narrowed.

According to global CEO Laurent Freixe, this reduction is temporary, as the group is heavily investing in growth.

In Brazil, Melchior projects a new positive cycle. Despite high input inflation, the expectation is to maintain double-digit growth this year.

What Explains the Record Inflation

Agricultural commodities are experiencing a moment of instability. In the case of coffee, the El Niño phenomenon has reduced robusta harvests in Vietnam and Indonesia.

In addition, adverse weather in Brazil compromised blooming and reduced the quality of the beans.

Cocoa, on the other hand, faces deeper limitations. A large portion of the production is concentrated in Côte d’Ivoire and other West African countries.

Moreover, cocoa crops do not have as adaptable seeds as other crops, making them more vulnerable.

According to researcher Felippe Serigati from FGV Agro, this combination of fragile supply and increasing demand makes the commodity even more susceptible to shocks.

Meanwhile, milk is experiencing a recovery phase, favored by falling corn prices, the main input of feed.

Challenging Balance

The current picture shows an agribusiness in search of balance. For Nestlé, the next steps involve maintaining scale, investing in productivity, and reinforcing consumer confidence.

The challenge is daily. However, with a presence in almost every household in the country, the company relies on its historical strength and bets on innovation to remain relevant even in such an unpredictable cost scenario.

With information from Exame.

0 Comentários

Mais recente

Mais antigos Mais votado

Feedbacks

Visualizar todos comentários

Nestlé Brazil President “Shocked” By Cocoa And Coffee Inflation: “We’ve Never Seen Inflation Like This”

Nestlé Brazil Faces Rising Costs with Coffee and Cocoa, Bet on Innovation, Tradition, and Scale to Sustain Growth and Competitiveness in the Country

Input Inflation Pressures Operations

The Weight of Cocoa and Coffee

Daily Responsibility to the Consumer

Exports: Small Impact, Focus on Brazil

Innovation Without Losing the Classics

Global Results of Nestlé and Outlook

What Explains the Record Inflation

Challenging Balance

A giant half-ton ring fell in Kenya from space, and more than a year later, scientists still do not know where it came from.

Seen from space, an image taken by an astronaut shows an unlikely oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert, protected by a terrain that slows the advance of sand, surrounded by green circles, remnants of an extinct lake and nearly 10,000 years of preserved history.

In Botswana, a salt flat of up to 16,000 km² that was once an African megalake spends months as an absolute white desert, but during the rainy season it transforms into a shallow sea that reappears from nowhere and can be seen from space in the middle of southern Africa.

While the U.S. still faces limitations in deep space, China is developing unprecedented technology with strategic satellites that maintain communication with the far side of the Moon and aims for dominance by 2030.

Bavarian archaeologists unearthed a medieval skeleton that had an articulated iron hand in place of its left arm, and the discovery reveals that doctors were already creating sophisticated prosthetics over 500 years ago.

For the first time, scientists have mapped the Etna magma system in almost real time and discovered where the volcano was storing large volumes of molten material before years of eruptions, revealing an underground reservoir that fills and reorganizes like a living organism beneath the mountain.

More than 1,500 Chinese workers transformed an entire railway station in just one night and reduced a 7-hour journey to 90 minutes with a high-speed line of 200 km/h.

Brazilian city becomes a global destination after attracting tourists who travel up to 10,000 km to visit a sanctuary with 11 giant saints up to 10 meters tall, open 24 hours and located along a highway in SP.

JBL Flip Essential 3 SE is launched with 30W of power (20W + 10W), Bluetooth 5.4, Auracast for multiple connections, IP67 water and dust resistance, up to 12 hours of battery life, and a price of approximately R$ 660 in China.

After ten days orbiting the Moon, science confirms that the astronauts of the Artemis II mission return with altered bodies.

Pernambuco paradise with 59% of preserved area advances with R$ 2 billion in e-methanol, aims for 900 tons/day, grows 38.6% and builds electrified terminal of 400 thousand TEUs.

Brazil may have railways back on the map, but it will need the government: a study reveals 7,412 km ready for reactivation, a cost of R$ 75 billion, 61 sections analyzed, and none viable without public funding.

Nestlé Brazil President “Shocked” By Cocoa And Coffee Inflation: “We’ve Never Seen Inflation Like This”

Nestlé Brazil Faces Rising Costs with Coffee and Cocoa, Bet on Innovation, Tradition, and Scale to Sustain Growth and Competitiveness in the Country

Input Inflation Pressures Operations

The Weight of Cocoa and Coffee

Daily Responsibility to the Consumer

Exports: Small Impact, Focus on Brazil

Innovation Without Losing the Classics

Global Results of Nestlé and Outlook

What Explains the Record Inflation

Challenging Balance

A giant half-ton ring fell in Kenya from space, and more than a year later, scientists still do not know where it came from.

Seen from space, an image taken by an astronaut shows an unlikely oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert, protected by a terrain that slows the advance of sand, surrounded by green circles, remnants of an extinct lake and nearly 10,000 years of preserved history.

In Botswana, a salt flat of up to 16,000 km² that was once an African megalake spends months as an absolute white desert, but during the rainy season it transforms into a shallow sea that reappears from nowhere and can be seen from space in the middle of southern Africa.

While the U.S. still faces limitations in deep space, China is developing unprecedented technology with strategic satellites that maintain communication with the far side of the Moon and aims for dominance by 2030.

Bavarian archaeologists unearthed a medieval skeleton that had an articulated iron hand in place of its left arm, and the discovery reveals that doctors were already creating sophisticated prosthetics over 500 years ago.

For the first time, scientists have mapped the Etna magma system in almost real time and discovered where the volcano was storing large volumes of molten material before years of eruptions, revealing an underground reservoir that fills and reorganizes like a living organism beneath the mountain.

More than 1,500 Chinese workers transformed an entire railway station in just one night and reduced a 7-hour journey to 90 minutes with a high-speed line of 200 km/h.

The World Bank issues urgent warning about jobs after the war in the Middle East and reveals an alarming scenario with rising unemployment, falling income, and the risk of a deep global economic crisis.

With millions of Brazilians in debt and interest rates soaring, the proposal to use FGTS to pay off debts reemerges and sparks immediate curiosity: does clearing one’s name this way really change life or just create a temporary sense of relief?

Brazil tightens the grip on billionaires with assets over US$ 100 million, targeting billionaires, business owners, and heirs who currently pay proportionally less tax than most of the population.

Petrobras puts R$ 5 billion on the table to bring to life a colossal factory that has been idle for almost 10 years to end dependence on international fertilizers.

The BYD case on the dirty list evolves rapidly, secretary is dismissed after contested inclusion, court suspends registration, and tension with tax auditors intensifies behind the scenes.

Brazilian city becomes a global destination after attracting tourists who travel up to 10,000 km to visit a sanctuary with 11 giant saints up to 10 meters tall, open 24 hours and located along a highway in SP.

JBL Flip Essential 3 SE is launched with 30W of power (20W + 10W), Bluetooth 5.4, Auracast for multiple connections, IP67 water and dust resistance, up to 12 hours of battery life, and a price of approximately R$ 660 in China.

After ten days orbiting the Moon, science confirms that the astronauts of the Artemis II mission return with altered bodies.

Pernambuco paradise with 59% of preserved area advances with R$ 2 billion in e-methanol, aims for 900 tons/day, grows 38.6% and builds electrified terminal of 400 thousand TEUs.

Brazil may have railways back on the map, but it will need the government: a study reveals 7,412 km ready for reactivation, a cost of R$ 75 billion, 61 sections analyzed, and none viable without public funding.