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As the leading player in the global halal food market, Nestlé looks
set to further expand its halal presence in Europe.

Frits van Dijk, Nestlé Executive Vice President and Zone Director for
Asia, Oceania, Africa and Middle East, outlines Nestlé's role of
halal in its global expansion, during the first regional World Halal
Forum Europe, on November 17-18 in the Netherlands. Following on from
the 4th World Halal Forum (WHF), which was held in Kuala Lumpur on
4-5 May this year, the "Halal Potential - A Regional Focus" event
brings together a number of high-level participants, industry
experts, academics and scholars to focus on the potential
implications on halal integrity, business and trade.

Mr van Dijk explained that Nestlé is set to increase its supply of
ethnic and halal foods in Europe, having already established a strong
presence in France, the UK and Germany. With sales of Nestlé's ethnic
and halal foods in Europe reaching CHF 55 million in 2008, the
company is aiming to scale up significantly in the coming years. This
will include moving into mainstream retail channels, where at the
beginning of 2010 Nestlé will be offering Swiss supermarkets a
selection of ethnic products, most of which are halal.

Nestlé's ethnic business in most European markets is delivered by
Nestrade, a global trading company within the Nestlé group. It
developed a marketing initiative in 2004 called Taste of Home
offering a wider range of ethnic foods sold in ethnic convenience
stores, called Mom and Pop stores.

This campaign - which was extended to focus predominantly on halal,
with products being sold in almost 1,000 stores in five European
countries during Ramadan in September - has seen strong growth of
around 50% each year, with double-digit profitability.

Alexander Klein, manager branded products channel development at
Nestrade, said: "We felt a strong demand from retailers in broadening
their ethnic assortment, and this is a pillar of growth we want to
continue to focus on. The Taste of Home concept is designed to speak
to both ethnic consumers looking for flavours and products that
remind them of home, as well as European consumers looking for
interesting and exotic world foods. Of course, providing the
reassurance of halal-certification is also vital."

Halal, which literally means permissible, is a way of living that all
Muslims must adhere to. Halal in a food context specifically means
food and drink which is allowed under the Islamic Law (Syariah). Many
Muslims therefore look for reassurance that all the food they eat is
halal, especially processed foods, although this varies between
regions and cultures.

Since the 1980s, Nestlé has been offering halal versions of
well-known products right across its range of food and beverages,
including confectionery such as Kit Kat and Smarties, Maggi soups,
Nido and Neslac milk, Milo malted drinks and Nescafé, accounting for
5% of Nestlé's annual sales, around CHF 5.3 billion.

Of Nestlé's 456 factories worldwide, 85 have a halal certification
with 154 halal-certified production lines situated mainly in
Indonesia, South Africa, the Middle East, Turkey and Malaysia - with
Malaysia as the Halal Excellence Centre and biggest halal food
producer within the Nestlé Group, exporting to more than 50 countries
worldwide. Interestingly, 20 of Nestlé's factories in Europe have
halal-certified production lines, for example Nestlé's Konolfingen
factory in Switzerland produces halal-certified Nido milk power for
export to South-East Asia.

Nestlé Halal products are labelled with a certification that provides
assurance that it is manufactured, imported and distributed under the
strictest hygienic and sanitary conditions, in accordance with the
Islamic faith.

An Islamic inspection authority such as the Islamic Food and
Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA) or the Islamic Food Council of
Europe inspects Nestlé factories along with a Nestlé Halal Committee
member to ensure that products comply before the halal logo can be
used.


 
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Nestlé S.A.
Avenue Nestlé 55 Vevey 

WKN: 887208; ISIN: 
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