STORY: Amongst a slew of European earnings, consumer goods companies were in the spotlight on Thursday (April 25).

Nestle missed Q1 sales estimates, as it hiked prices and sold fewer products - particularly in North America.

The world's biggest packaged food company, boasting brands like KitKat and Nescafe, confirmed its 2024 guidance of about 4% growth in organic sales.

The Swiss company's CEO said the firm had expected a slow start to the year and is seeing a strong rebound in the second quarter.

The packaged goods industry has hit shoppers with higher prices for over two years.

Passing on to customers higher input costs prompted by the global health crisis and exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.

These higher prices have hurt sales volumes at consumer goods giants, like Nestle, that have lost ground to cheaper brands.

But, seemingly, this is not so for Unilever; the British consumer goods company won back the shoppers who'd traded down to cheaper brands.

Shares in the company, makers of Dove soap and Hellmann's mayonnaise, rose after it reported a 4.4% rise in underlying sales growth.

It marks the second quarter of growth after several declines.

Unilever also kept its full-year guidance for sales growth.

The company's price hikes gradually slowed in 2023, and that trend continued in the first quarter of this year.