Nestlé: Striking a Healthful Balance

In 2021, The Financial Times disclosed that a leaked internal report circulated among top Nestlé S.A. (Nestlé) executives acknowledged that over 60 per cent of the company portfolio was junk food. Since then, Nestlé had found itself embroiled in controversies over the proportion of unhealthy food sales in its portfolio. In subsequent years, criticism proliferated across multiple countries all over the world. In 2024, ShareAction, a non-governmental corporate watchdog, filed a resolution at Nestlé’s annual general meeting, heaping pressure on its top management to set concrete targets to increase the proportion of its sales from healthier products. That resolution was opposed with nearly 88 per cent of shareholder votes. In April 2025, as they prepared for their annual general meeting, Chair Paul Bulcke and his management faced a pressing decision. Should they Immediately adopt explicit health-sales key performance indicators and reporting, maintain the current reporting and portfolio-transition trajectory for another year, or adopt a phased or selective transparency approach?