VEVEY, SWITZERLAND — Purina continues to drive growth for Nestlé overall, in addition to its coffee and confectionery businesses. According to the company’s full-year financials released Feb. 13, the pet care business witnessed low single-digit growth, driven primarily by science-based, premium brands Purina ProPlan, Purina ONE and Friskies. 

Full year 2024 sales for Nestlé’s Petcare segment were reported at CHF 18.9 billion ($20.9 billion USD), a slight increase from 2023. Real internal growth (RIG) was 2.1%, pricing was 0.6% and organic growth was 2.7%.

“Growth in pet was driven by RIG,” explained Anna Manz, chief financial officer of Nestlé. “As expected, pricing reduced, but has started to stabilize a little more in the fourth quarter.”

Swiss franc (CHF) to USD currency conversions are based on Feb. 13 conversion rates.

The company shared that category growth for this segment slowed during the year, but it still expects 4% to 5% growth through 2025. To support its growth, the company is planning to expand its investment in therapeutic pet food, which is reaping growth of more than CHF 600 billion ($663.1 billion USD), by focusing on science-based innovation, veterinary engagement and direct-to-consumer. 

“For Nestlé, we see a lot of opportunities in Zone Asia, Oceania and Africa (AOA), we can be much larger than we are today,” said Laurent Freixe, chief executive officer of Nestlé. “We are making a substantial investment in capabilities, particularly in route to market, innovation and marketing. Growth accelerated to double-digits in the second half of 2024, and we are growing market share.”

In line with its plan to expand its offerings, Purina recently launched its GOURMET REVELATIONS Fine Cuts in Gelée in the European market and Fancy Feast Gems in the United States. 

Overall, sales for the full year were reported at CHF 91.4 billion ($101 billion USD), a slight decrease of 1.8% compared to 2023 full-year sales. Despite this, Nestlé experienced a return to positive RIG, reported at 0.8% for 2024, compared to down 0.3% in 2023. Organic growth was 2.2%, a drop from 7.2% in 2023, which the company attributed to soft consumer demand, consumer hesitancy toward global brands in certain markets, pricing deceleration and other factors. 

Pricing was reported at 1.5%, compared to 7.5% in 2023. Organic growth was 2.2%, a drop from 7.2% in 2023. Gross profit margin was reported at 46.7%, a change of 80 basis points compared to 45.9% in 2023. Net profit was CHF 10.9 billion ($12.0 billion USD), a 2.9% decrease from the prior year. 

“In a challenging macroeconomic context and soft consumer environment, we achieved a solid performance in 2024 in line with our latest guidance,” Freixe said. “… We have a clear roadmap to accelerate performance and transform for the future. Increasing investment to drive growth is central to our plan. This means delivering superior product taste and quality with unbeatable value, scaling our winning platforms and brands, accelerating the rollout of our innovation ‘big bets’ and addressing underperformers.”

The company has implemented a three-year, CHF 2.5 billion ($2.8 billion USD) cost savings program, which it is already making “good progress” on and has secured CHF 300 million ($331.8 million USD) of savings for 2025, according to Freixe. 

Zone North America sales were CHF 25.3 billion ($28.0 billion USD). Organic growth decreased 0.5% and RIG decreased 0.8% compared to 2023. Pricing was 0.4%. Pet care was the largest growth contributor in North America, experiencing low single-digit growth driven by premium brands, particularly those in the cat and therapeutic segments. 

Zone Europe sales were CHF 18.9 billion ($20.9 billion USD). Organic growth increased 3.3% and RIG increased 0.8% compared to 2023. Pricing was reported at 2.5%. In this zone, pet care experienced market share gains and low single-digit growth led by Purina ONE, Gourmet and ProPlan.

Zone Asia, Oceania and Africa (AOA) sales were CHF 16.8 billion ($18.6 billion USD). Organic growth increased 3.4% and RIG increased 0.6% compared to 2023. Pricing was 2.8%. Pet care achieved high single-digit growth in this zone, led by Felix and Purina ONE brands, allowing the segment to “reignite” its growth momentum. 

Zone Latin America sales were CHF 11.9 billion ($13.2 billion USD). Organic growth increased 2.5% and RIG decreased 0.3% compared to 2023. Pricing was 2.7%. Pet care witnessed flat growth in this zone, supported mainly by Felix and Friskies. 

Zone Greater China sales were CHF 4.9 billion ($5.4 billion USD). Organic growth increased 2.1% and RIG increased 4.3% compared to 2023. Pricing was down 2.1%. 

“From 2025, we expect our actions to drive an improvement in organic sales growth, with a lower underlying trading operating profit margin in the short term as we invest for growth,” Freixe said. “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.”

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